Heat of a heart
by Meatbun Attack
Summary: I love my family, they all know I had died previously and accepted me for who I am. They all support me and help pull me up when I fall or trip over my own feet. I'll do my best with this second chance I've gotten at life, I'll be better than I was back then. I'll be the strongest in this whole village. (OC char before 3rd ninja war AU Unreliable narrator Gamer power Slow build)
1. Beginning

Hello everyone! Meatbunattack here!

I've been on a long break from fanfiction lately due to real life getting in the way, but now I'm back! And now I got another story I want to share! I love the concept of this story and I'll try to have it as a 'write as I go' without any plans for the future of this story. I write it as a challenge to myself to try and develop my writing style a bit more and I'm already a few chapters into the story.

What I'll do with this one that I haven't done with any of my other stories is that I want you to help me out! There are so many directions this story can take and so many options on what kind of power my character will have and I want your advice! I'd appreciate it a lot if you could help me and join me through this journey to change the Naruto canon.

This will be an AU of Naruto, even before my character appeared things have changed.

I hope you enjoy this first chapter. Stick with me to the end! And sorry for any Grammar or spelling mistakes, I'm doing my best but English isn't my first language. **It's a bit of a slow story in the beginning but it gets better with time. Also the character's personality will also develop slowly as things happen to her throughout the story, if this is not anything for you then I apologize beforehand.  
**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Naruto as a universe, only my OC's.

* * *

 **Beginning**

It's a beautiful sunny morning in Sunagakure. Small dust clouds stir up from the gentle desert wind outside the village and is giving a sense of calm to the desert, where the sun has just risen from the horizon to light up the glittering sand with its bright light. There are ninjas on lookout in the numerous guard spots inside the walls surrounding the village, many letting out a yawn as they finally see the sun after a long night.

Inside the village's walls is a clan compound to the east; one of the smaller ninja clans Sunagakure has acquired that they are very proud of to have. They may be small, consisting of four families at the moment, but what they lack in numbers they make up for in skill. The clan started as a merchant powerhouse but with one mutation within the clan it soon got divided into two parts, one who continued their merchant route and trade while the other focused on combat. The one who mutated to have a Kekkei genkai was Shiro Masago, who is still alive to this day after so many years. The Masago clan, both parts of it, were a great help in creating the village hidden in the sand about 60 years ago and for that they're held in a high regard within the village; to the point that the Masago are always guaranteed a spot within the council of the village.

The first to receive this Kekkei genkai, Shiro Masago, was a boy bright for his age. He became the merchant clan's main defense; getting skilled enough so they didn't have to hire just a few more shinobi to protect their precious cargo when he was assigned to it despite his young age. He was a true prodigy in anything he attempted to achieve. He never needed any sleep to keep his energy. He was always calm and collected no matter the situation he was in, even if he stumbled upon situations or was forced to perform actions that would make any normal child weep. Something that's always amazed those sharing his family name and the shinobi he spent time with is a trait everyone in Shiro's family line shares; whatever wound they have sustained, be it fatal or not, as long as they get a bed to sleep in, the wound will magically heal overnight. No one has been able to figure out how that works since there's nothing special with their blood, nor do anyone detect any major chakra usage throughout the night when they sleep to heal the wound.

As the clan developed inside Sunagakure's walls once the village was founded, all of his children shared his amazing abilities. Fast growth, incredible intelligence, always a sense of calm in the face of danger and an amazing ability to heal. Something that the special shinobi tasked with observing the special family find strange, is that everyone sharing Shiro's blood have a tendency to swipe and tap on thin air; as if there's something there that only they could see and interact with. When the interrogation department tried to get a hold of the clans secret power through interrogating the civilians who have been married to the clan members, they simply smiled and said that it was an ability no one other than the Masago would understand, that it would be too absurd for anyone else to believe. When they all stated the same reason, the interrogation team couldn't help but agree with the civilians and let the case go unsolved; they gave up on trying to find out about their secrets and simply let them be, letting them grow in size so that the city could boast about their talented shinobi.

An 'Game' ability, that's simply absurd. Being a ninja isn't some kind of game someone can play, it's a serious occupation where you have to put your life on the line every day to complete missions. But considering that it's the 'o' Masago ninja clan with their amazing hidden abilities, over the years the city have come to understand the view they have on their life a little better. They cannot die from wounds as long as they sleep it off, no one from Shiro's direct blood line has died in battle, only Shiro's wife has died from old age so far and Shiro himself will soon join her. At least he will stay alive long enough to see the next generation of his family arrive, the 4th generation.

Inside the clan compound, a woman has just given birth to a pretty little girl; exhausted and panting, she's gently holding onto her new little angel with the man beside her is looking at the baby with similar adoration. As the two nurses who assisted in the child birth start to pack up, seeing as their work is done, the mother whisper lowly under her breath.

"My baby girl…."

She look up to her husband with a tired yet warm smile, lightly tightening her hold on the resting bundle in her arms.

"You register her name, Hiro…"

The man smiles, leaning down to kiss the woman's forehead. Hiro lightly tap the air next to the child, pressing a button no one but them can see as he grin widely.

"Mio Masago…"

The two parents can hear a quiet 'ding' that only those of the clan can hear while the two nurses ignore what the new family of three is doing; the strange clan has done that for every child after all. As the baby has received her name, she open her eyes slowly to take her first look at the blurry image of her parents. The bright pink gaze of the child seem wiser than that of an infant, looking around her surroundings with a quiet coo. Recognizing this behavior and colour to her eyes, Hiro laugh, gently rubbing his nose against the babies cheek.

"She is a reset, love. Look at her eyes… beautiful."

The baby look absolutely confused by Hiros actions, limbs flailing as she stare at the man with wide eyes. The new mother smile widely at her baby, gaze so full of love as she lightly bring her closer to nuzzle her other cheek.

"Welcome to the family, Mio…."

 **First POV Mio**

Okay. What is going on here? I'm currently lying in a crib of what's supposed to be my new… home? What? My limbs flail erratically as I look around, making my eyes tear up in frustration when my limbs don't follow my command. I want to stand up and look around but my body doesn't follow my thoughts. What is happening? Where am I? WHO am I? I can't clearly remember but I knows I'm NOT supposed to be this small.

Every thought process stop when I can suddenly see some kind of blue holographic window in front of me, making my eyes widen at the screen. On the very top of the screen it says "welcome" in big bold letters written in English, the universal language. Suddenly, more text start to appear on the screen and I read it, fascinated by this strange window that appeared from nowhere.

 **Welcome to your new life Mio Masago.**

Mio Masago… it doesn't feel like my name but I can't remember what my name is supposed to e otherwise. Mio sounds cute…

 **You have just gotten the opportunity to be reborn and start your life anew. A much more exciting life that your previous one. You have no reason to hide your abilities to your clan since everyone are under my protection but only 4 in total have been reborn like you have.**

Wait who is this thing that's watching over them? And reborn…? That explains why I feel like I should be different, that my environment should be different. I figure I should be panicking over this revelation but I'm not, I'm actually rather calm considering my situation. After all I can't remember who I was even if I feel like I should be different, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

 **You will grow and adapt in this new world in order to become a powerful Shinobi. If you think or say 'Pause' you will bring up the main menu.**

It doesn't write more text after that, making me slightly confused. Pause…? I look around me wildly as my surroundings change, eyes widening more as the bedroom disappears with white tiles suddenly appear out of thin air to block my reality. As I'm inside this space it feels like the space will go on forever… I look around with wide eyes, not even noticing that I'm floating and able to control my limbs much better in here. As another screen appears before me, I turn to face it.

 **This is the pause menu. It might've paused the world outside the menu for the original game user but for you younger generation time still goes on around you.**

What, so now I'm just staring dumbly in my crib as I'm in here…?

 **You can hear and feel anything that's happening in the outside world while you're in the pause menu if you choose to do so. In the pause menu you will have access to many different special options that you can't reach outside this void space.**

The window shift to get smaller, deleting the text once it's certain I've read it. A menu appears beside the text window, something I clearly recognize. But I don't remember from where… It has "save game, load game, options, shop" in four different blue rectangle buttons.

 **This is the main menu. Here you can save your game, load a recent save, adjust your options to what you see out in the real world and access the special shop with jutsus, powers, that only your clan has the ability to learn. Of course, you can always learn other abilities outside the clan with enough practice. Clan jutsus are expensive so you need to save up a lot of money to buy any of them. Please save your game.**

I blink dumbly at the text before I glance to the 'shop' button. So in there I can get jutsus…? What's a jutsu? I recognize the word but I don't remember from where… following the 'tutorial' as I've dubbed to call it, I press the 'save game' button. The screen shifts to show four empty slots available for save files. I glance to the text window as it starts to write again.

 **This is the save screen. You can have up to four different saves and overwrite saves as you go on with your life. Save your game in important situations so that if you fail you can always reload your save and try again. If you die and get a game over, you'll restart from your latest save file. If you ever feel like you could've done something different to better your life, you could always return to your younger years and do it over. But be warned, your clan members will know if you ever choose to reload a save and will be angry at you for going back years without their consent. Please save your game in the first slot.**

So I have a cheat system to make sure I never die…? Wow that's… that's really cool and really useful. Without knowing how, I reach out a hand to lightly press on 'save file 1 empty' with my finger. As I spot the very chubby limb, I can't help but stare at it; looking long and hard at my hand. It's… really small. I clench and unclench it, fascinated that I can control this small, weak limb in here. As my observation on my body is complete, also spending some time to look at my stomach and legs, I look up at the screen in front of me. The tutorial has finished writing what it want to say and I notice that the first save file now says 'first day as an infant' instead of empty. Neat. I shift my gaze to read what the tutorial has to say.

 **Now that you've saved your game you can always return to being an infant if you choose to. You have only four save slots so think carefully as you overwrite them to replace with new saves. To load a save, it's just like saving it, pressing the save you want to reload and accept. Now, press 'back' so we can get into options.**

I do as it says, pressing the bright blue 'back' button. The tutorial automatically press on the options button for me and there's suddenly a huge list of options in front of me. Well, not huge, but certainly larger than I imagined. I turn to the text screen first to see what it has to say. This is kinda fun to explore…

 **This is the options screen. Here you can adjust your settings to your needs. All from colour on your menu to useful hud you can see in real life. Take your time to look through the options and adjust it how you'd like it, then press back when you're ready.**

I nod slightly to the tutorial before I focus on the options menu. I start to fill in and adjust to how I want it, not really knowing how or why I know what everything does. But I'm not complaining.

 **Background music: [on]** [off]

 **Subtitles: [on]** [off]

 **HP and CP display: [on]** [off]

 **Mini-map: [on]** [off]

 **Speech volume: 100**

 **Music volume: 60**

 **Sound effect volume: 60**

 **Subtitles speed: Fast**

 **Subtitle language: English**

 **Menu colour: Red**

Once I'm done with fixing up the options, I press the now red 'back' button to return to the main menu. I can see the friendly tutorial typing away again in its window and I read what it has to say. Now the window is red instead of blue like it was before; red is my favorite colour so of course I'd choose red.

 **Now that concludes the tutorial. You'll gain access to the main menu shop once you've gained enough experience so that's something you'll get to learn about later on. There's still much to learn about your abilities but those are outside of the menu screen and something you'll get to learn from your family. Make sure to keep me entertained or you never know what will happen in your future. I'll talk to you if it's ever needed~. Say 'exit' once you want to exit the main menu.**

Once I've read everything that's been written, the window close and disappear. I can't help but shiver at the hidden threat in there to keep it happy, frowning slightly as I look down at my chubby baby legs. Keep it happy, huh…? Well… how would I know what would make it happy? Maybe it's another thing that my clan will teach me… but what is a clan? What is this HP and CP? Is it like mana and health? Possibly, it feels like I know all the functions to this 'game' thing already but I don't know why or how. But it all feels so… familiar.

I mentally say 'exit' and the world around me disappears just as quickly as it appeared. Once I blink back into reality, my eyes widen in shock and surprise at having someone suddenly appear right in front of my face. So much that my body starts to cry in distress, not able to process the emotion even if my mind can. My limbs flail around me as I'm trying to push away the giant head that's way too close, but of course my limbs don't follow my command. I can hear soft music in the background, but it's too soft for me to really focus on.

They talk some kind of gibberish, the person who just invaded my personal space, and I can feel myself get picked up. When my head hangs limply on my shoulders, they're quick to support me and hold me to their chest. With the gently rocking motion and soft mumbling in my ear, I can feel my emotions slowly dim and am finally able to calm down. Once my straight out crying and screaming has been reduced to sniffs, I can't help but feel embarrassed over my actions. I just straight out cried because this someone startled me. That's so pathetic….

" _You're special, Right…? You understand what I'm saying, right…?_ "

I blink in confusion as I see text appear on the bottom of my vision, looking down at it. The text follow my gaze so I can't clearly see what it says. Is that the subtitles…? The person that's holding me pull me away enough so I can look at them, a wide smile on their face. It looks like a boy, not much older than 7 or 8 years old if you go by his baby fat. He has wild spiky dark green hair that frame his smiling face nicely. He has wide and happy neon purple eyes that's practically sparkling in excitement. I blink again at him, making a small sound of confusion. What did he just say…? The next time he speaks I can see the text under my vision much better, like it's moved up slightly to adjust to my blurry vision.

" _Yup, that's the eyes. Hey, I'm Yohio. I'm 7 years old and just like you. I was also reborn into this clan… I hope we can be great friends._ "

I blink a few more times as I register what he says, managing a small smile and gurgle as confirmation. The tutorial did say there were 4 others in the clan like me. So this one has also gotten reborn huh…? The boy giggles softly and adjust his grip on me, sitting down on a chair inside the room as he continue to speak to me. Speaking to me like the adult mind that I am. It's such a relief to not be treated like a baby… Or, well. I feel like an adult, like I was an adult before this happened to me.

" _I know it'll be hard in the beginning, being a baby and all that… but it'll get better eventually. Since our great grandpa was the first to be reborn, the whole family has accepted it and embraced it. They treat everyone that's like us like normal adults so they're all really nice._ "

Yohio grin wider, making me notice his dimples as a happy blush spread on his cheeks. He's getting excited to talk about our family, my new family, and I listen to what he's saying with wide curious eyes, not even noticing how I start to chew on my hand.

" _You know, the difference between those who are reborn, or 'reset' as the clan like to call it, are the eyes. A normal baby born in our clan has a 'normal' colour in the eyes. But we reborn got unique ones! Shiro-Sama has pure red eyes. Uncle Taro has neon green eyes. I have purple and you got bright pink! Isn't it cool?_ "

I blink again as I process this information, looking around the room. I have pink eyes? Really? Oh no that sounds so weird, I gotta look in a mirror to see how bad it is. Is there a mirror in here? Yohio is just about to start talking again when I spot someone in the doorway. Someone with warm brown eyes and a gentle smile on her face. I recognize her… that's my mother right? I can feel myself getting drawn to her. Wanting to be closer to this woman, I flail my limbs in her direction as I try to smile widely at the woman despite my facial features not responding to me correctly yet. She's so pretty too despite my vision being so blurry. The woman laughs happily, walking forward and making her long, curly black hair sway with the motion. She's absolutely stunning in my opinion…

" _Introducing Mio to the world, Yohio-kun~?_ "

She says softly, bending down to pick me up just like I wanted. I stare fascinated at her hair, baby hands moving to take hold of it. It's so soft… despite not seeing him, I can see the text as Yohio speak. I'm so glad for the subtitles, or I wouldn't understand a word they say otherwise. Perhaps I'll try to turn it off when I wanna learn the language but not yet, I want to understand where I am first.

" _Yeah! I mean, she's like me. Reborn and all that. I wanna assure her that the time as a baby will be strange but it's gonna be better!_ "

The woman laugh happily and I can feel a pair of lips being pressed to my temple. I turn to look at her and is amazed at the amount of love in her eyes. This woman is so beautiful… I wish I'll be as beautiful as her when I grow up. Petite nose, full lips, small freckles on her cheeks that's barely visible under her tan skin. Her beautiful black curls of hair and warm brown eyes. She's breathtaking….

" _Mnhm… welcome to our family, Mio darling. I'm Hanami, your mother. Yohio is your cousin, your father's sister's son. Just like everyone else in our family, he'll help you along to grow stronger. Don't be afraid to ask about your powers, Okay? We all know it can be confusing at first… at least you have the advantage of already getting access to the menu~._ "

She pause to press another gentle kiss to my forehead, making me giggle happily with a slight warmth spreading on my cheeks.

" _You'll learn our language super fast thanks to it. Right Yohio-kun?_ "

I can almost feel Yohio nod after shouting out an excited 'yeah' but right now I'm only focusing on Hanami. My mother is beautiful! And so kind too! I like my new family already. After many tries, my hand manage to land on her cheek, a happy gurgle escaping me at the small success. Small tears gather in the corner of her eyes, her smile spreading wider as she gently kiss my forehead again. This woman is making me feel so warm and loved, I'll absolutely give her the same treatment once I'm properly able to.

" _I love you Mio… let's go and meet the rest of your family._ "

She then turn towards the exit, gently holding me to her chest with one arm while her other reach down to presumably grasp Yohio's hand. I'm carried along and, since there's nothing more I can do, I look around my new home as we walk. It's made of some kind of gravy light brown stone without any kind of cracks in the structure, but despite the bland colour it feels cozy. Like… like a warm and comfortable home. This new life… I have no idea what my past life was like. But I can't help being extremely excited for what comes next. They seem so warm and understanding of my situation. I'm really glad I'm not in this strange predicament alone... I wonder who other than me, Yohio and this Shiro-sama who are reborn. Neon green eyes… I'll look out for those.

* * *

I'm wearing a grumpy pout on my face, doing my best to glare up at the person making 'funny' faces at me. It's my cousin Aiko, a girl who's around 14. She has baby blue eyes, very pretty eyes I must admit, and straight dark green hair in the same shade as Yohio. She looks like a pretty and bright girl, but right now I can't help getting extremely annoyed with her. She knows I'm older than her mentally yet she treat me like a baby. And she's just having fun at my expense! I let out a loud scream of frustration when she once again tries to tickle my stomach with those 'goochie goochie' sounds. It's embarrassing and frustrating!

The family meeting went very well, I like everyone in my family so far, despite Aiko treating me this way. Something that seems to be a family tradition is that everyone has a name that ends with 'o' excluding those who are married into the family. So there's old man Shiro, who looked very very old, grandpa Jiro and Katsuo with their respective wives Masami and Sayaka. None of the old ones paid much attention to me and mostly said hi, introduced themselves and sat down by a table to talk like adults do.

Uncle Taro had really pretty neon green eyes and apparently he's the clan leader. Aunt Chiyoko is the oldest of my uncles and aunts but she isn't clan head. Maybe cause Taro is a Reset…? There's also uncle Gorou who's Chiyoko's husband, aunt Emi who's uncle Taro's wife, uncle Daisuke and his wife Ichigo. Yohio has a big sister, Aiko who's making these silly faces at me. They're children to Chiyoko and Gorou. There's also Setsuko and Sho who are twins and children to the clan leader Taro and Emi. And Yuuto who's single child like me to Ichigo and Daisuke. I'm the youngest of them all, of course, but Aiko is the eldest of them all, being 14. Then there's the twins at 10 years old, Yohio at 7 and Yuuto at 4 years old. It's a very small but very nice clan. Everyone seems excited that there are two reset children in this generation considering the last generation had only Taro.

Another family trait that everyone has who are born into our clan, other than our name, is apparently our hair colour. We either have dark green, dark blue, dark red or dark purple hair. Not really normal colours. Even great grandpa Shiro has a strange light purple colour to his hair without any white in it. Why does his hair keep that colour despite his age? My grandpa's wives have grey hair like old people should have. I guess it's something to do with our special power?

But back to my current frustration, I try to stay angry at Aiko's stupid and childish actions, but my body betrays me as I start to smile at the tickles and silly faces. I'm not capable of laughing yet, which will be when my vocal cords have developed more, but my body's emotions is overriding that of my mind. Which is really irritating and embarrassing.

Yohio, bless that child for understanding my plight, whine at his sister and lightly pull on her shirt.

" _Siiiis stop that! She doesn't think it's funny!_ "

Aiko simply grins at her little brother, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She seems to be a troublemaker at first glance…

" _Yes she does~. Look at that happy little smile of yours!_ "

She turn back to me and nuzzle playfully into my belly. Just what I needed. I grab onto her dark green hair and _pull_ , making her cry out in pain and try to remove my hands without hurting me. I'm basking happily at the sound of her pain, glad to know that I can cause her as much physical pain as she embarrassed me.

I can hear a sigh from my mother, Hanami, as she approach me and the two siblings. She effectively make me let go of Aiko's hair, without me really knowing how, and pick me up to hold me close. I can't see what she's doing as I'm resting over her shoulder, but I can hear her scold Aiko.

" _Aiko, just like with Yohio you shouldn't treat Mio like that, it's embarrassing for her._ "

As my mother continue to scold Aiko for her behavior, I spot Yuuto, the adorable four year old shooting me a smile and a cheerful wave from where he's sitting beside the twins colouring. I smile back, since I can't do much else, and is content to not really focus on any conversation. That's also when I notice the background music…. it's beautiful and calming.

I can hear the sound of a distant, soft flute along with string instruments, creating a calm feel to my surroundings. I choose to zone out even more from the clan members voices, focusing on the music as I'm carried by my mother. This feels so nice….

" _-io. Mio are you listening?_ "

I blink out from my earlier daze, trying to focus on the person in front of me. I immediately notice his neon green eyes and curly dark blue hair, knowing that it can only be Taro, our current clan leader. I let out a soft sound at the back of my throat, widening my eyes at him. NOW I'm paying attention. I'm still thankfully being held by my mother Hanami, feeling comfortable in her arms. Taro sigh softly and smile gently at me, as if understanding why I had just zoned out. He has clear lines on his face from smiling so much through his years, he look like a really nice uncle honestly. The one who smiles the most at least.

" _Right, hard to focus… But as I was saying, I'll help you unlock the memories of your past once you've developed your chakra enough. So just like I said to Yohio-kun…_ "

He reach out to gently boop my nose with his pointer finger, making me giggle softly at the motion. That felt so weird in the body I currently have… Yet I'm oddly amused by such a small gesture.

" _Make sure to work hard, Mio-chan. One day, you'll help to guide other Resets as a part of our clan… We'll start your training once you've started to walk properly ok? So you don't accidentally press something you shouldn't._ "

Glad to see some sort of start to when I can get to know where the hell I am and what's going on, I get excited by this revelation. I have no idea what he means with training, but I guess it's going to lead towards that 'experience' the tutorial was talking about. I giggle softly and flail my arms around, I'm looking forward to it! A small 'ding' sound can be heard from Taro's location, making everyone turn towards him. He get a grim look on his face, pressing the air in front of him. What's he doing…? As If reading my thoughts, Hanami ask him the question I want to ask him too. And by the looks of it, everyone else too…

" _Another mission from our Maker…? What is it about?_ "

Tako look around at his family until his eyes land on Yohio, gaze lingering on him for a few more seconds. As he turn back to me and Hanami, he's smiling again, shaking his head slightly in dismissal.

" _Just another mission specified for the clan head… Nothing we have to concern us about right now._ "

He press the air again and everyone return to what they did before that sound appeared from thin air. I'm just blinking confused, what just happened? No one bothers to explain it to me either, the festivities of inviting me to the family continuing like nothing happened. As my mother sit down with the grown ups to converse, I can feel my stomach churning in need for substance. Realizing what I have to do to satisfy it since I'm still a very small baby, I can feel the colour drain from my face. Oh this is going to be humiliating…

* * *

So yes, this is a gamer fanfic but a different take on it from what I've read before. I've been inspired by 'Gamer of sunagakure' and 'dreaming of sunshine' to write this fanfiction. Compared to other gaming powers, my version of the gaming element is quite different... You'll see what I mean as the story goes on. Also the fact that my main character isn't alone with this power, that she has a whole clan supporting her as she moves forward. If you have any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them!

 **This chapter's question:** Which ninja village would you have preferred to be reborn into?


	2. One years old

Hi everyone! Me again.

These chapters will have one year time skips until she's 6 years old with only her entering the academy will have two chapters for it. So at the start of the story there will be a lot of 'thinking back' through the chapter to give a slightly better picture on how Mio is living her life.

I hope you enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the naruto universe, only my OC's

* * *

 **One year later**

I'm currently standing up, hands leaning against the large window as I stare fascinated at the blowing sand outside. It has now been a whole year since I was born into this clan. The first few months were absolutely horrible with how I had no way of getting around on my own. I had no way to even eat or go to the bathroom on my own. Of course, I'm still wearing a diaper since my body can't handle my bladder yet… And it's always humiliating when someone has to change it for me. But at least now I can walk, having been able to crawl a few months back. I'll have my first birthday in a few days, which everyone in the clan are excited for. Something I've learned early on is that every birthday is a very important event that the whole clan joins in to celebrate if they can. Sometimes the grown ups have to go on 'missions' and can't join, but the parents to the kid are always there. It's really nice to have this kind of tight knit family…

I can finally control my body properly, somewhat keeping my balance as I walk. I can speak some basic words that I've learned but with a slight babble to them. After a month or two, I don't really know when, I decided to remove the subtitles so I could learn their language properly. It took another month to understand basic speech and I still have difficulty to understand someone if they speak with me in a polite way. I also turned off the background music, having gotten tired of the same constant soundtrack over and over. Once I did get control of how I grab onto things, I have received toys to play with to develop my finger control. Apparently it's something every baby in our clan receive to play with no matter if they're a Reset or not. Saying that's it's for an early shinobi training.

Thanks to Yohio and my parents giving me tips, I haven't had that many boring days as an infant. Yohio has helped me the most, honestly, since he has experienced the boring days of an infant a few years ago and he didn't get as much stimulation as he would've liked. So he always sneaked some of the more complicated puzzle toys to me so I could practice with my hands. He also gave me tips on things to do to pass time quicker and 'level up' useful skills I got that will have a lot of use in the future. As I was about to start a new task, I sometimes got a red pop up window saying that I had a quest. Telling me to finish the task I was about to start. Of course I always accepted them and completed them, my mother and father praised me whenever I accomplished something new with or without a quest.

Thanks to my family I've gotten a few different 'Skills' all who popped up as a briefing window. But I have yet any way to see the list I have of them… From what I remember I got 'Observe', and 'Meditate'. I don't remember what they do or what others I got, but I do remember Yohio saying that they're useful to have. I guess I'll find out what it is once Taro do something that make me able to see my 'stats window' as Yohio call it. It's something us Reset get when we turn 1 years old, which I will be in a few days. I look forward to when I can talk to everyone back instead of just nodding yes or no. I can say 'again' or 'more' but It's not really useful for asking questions.

From what I've learned, I'm living in a city called 'Sunagakure', The village hidden in the sand. That explains why there's always sand inside and outside the house, but also that the houses we're living in are made of sand. I have yet to be carried outside to see the rest of the city except the clan compound, but I don't mind it too much. Thanks to Yohio I've kept myself occupied during the day. It's only me, my father Hiro and my mother Hanami living in this house, but father sometimes have to leave for work. My cousins have their own houses, whereas Taro the clan leader has the largest and fanciest house. I've been to all the other houses during birthday parties and Taro's house is really the best. The other kids in our clan are mostly focused on training since they're in the ninja academy, including Yuuto the now 5 year old.

According to my father, I was born at the end of the year, making my birthday the very last our family celebrate. But that also means that once I do enter the academy I'll be almost a whole year younger than the others. Even if Aiko said that to try and intimidate me, it only makes me more determined to succeed. I have a slight advantage that I understand the lessons they're giving me even now and that I've already unlocked a few abilities that my clan training would've have helped me unlock later on. It's useful to have family members who know how much you're able to handle at a young age.

"Mio-chan? What are you looking at?"

I turn my gaze up to look at my father, his gentle green eyes looking at me with such pure love in his eyes. I smile widely at the warmth spreading in my chest at his gaze, reaching up with my chubby hands towards his face.

"Up!"

Is my response to his question, a happy buzz erupting in my chest from my excitement. He doesn't disappoint me, lifting me up and throwing me into the air playfully. I squeal loudly and laugh happily at the air rushing past me, grasping onto Hiro's shoulder length dark red hair. The same shade of red as my own. Even if it looks spiky and uncomfortable from afar, his hair is really soft when you touch it. My father turn back to the window, gazing out at our backyard with a smile on his face. I automatically do the same, smiling as the wind is still playing with the sand scattered on the ground.

"It's blowing a lot now. I hope we don't get a storm."

He comment softly, to which I find a certain childish glee to shout out a cheerful 'Fuuuu!' to mimic the sound of the wind. This makes Hiro laugh, gently nuzzling my chubby rosy cheek which makes me laugh in return. I've come to love my family dearly, mostly my mother, father and cousin Yohio who always comes over to visit me. Hiro and Hanami are both so accepting of my behaviour, being just as loving when I show this childish side of me or when I show my intellectual side. All of us know that I am smarter than I seem, but sometimes I'm affected by my body's emotions and act accordingly. Whenever I'm with my family, there's a constant joyful _buzz_ in my chest, making me giddy and happy at spending time with them. Once I'm able to ask them what it is, I will. Because while I enjoy the sensation I don't know if it's normal.

Focusing back on the present, I grab onto Hiro's nose with a happy giggle, making him talk to me in a playful nasal voice.

"Ah! She got my nose! Hanami, help, she got my nose!"

I laugh loudly at how silly he's being, pulling on his nose to force him to come closer. I let go of his nose and pucker my lips, gently pressing it against his nose as if kissing away pain. I then reach up to pat his nose, babbling to him as if saying 'there there the pain is gone' since I can't actually say it yet. I hear Hanami laugh happily behind us, joining us by the window as she gently kiss my cheek.

"Honey, you shouldn't try and steal your papa's nose. Are you excited for your birthday tomorrow?"

I perk up as she says this. Tomorrow!? But isn't my birthday next week? I look between my two parents, earning a chuckle from Hiro as he grin widely at me, the wrinkles under his eyes being more visible as his cheeks rise with his grin.

"Mio, your birthday is on the 16th of December."

My eyes widen as I focus on Hiro, throwing my hands up into the air in a 'I forgot' motion. I thought it was the 10th of December today. The days pass by faster than I thought, I guess I've been meditating so much that I can't keep track of the days anymore. Something that Yohio told me was that we don't need sleep. So he's told me that I could meditate in my sleep and still grow like normal. It's really useful, even if I do end up falling asleep most nights anyway…

Hanami gently kiss my cheek, making me snap out from my inner thoughts and focus on her. Her soft smile makes my chest buzz happily again, smiling back to her just as brightly. I still can't get over how beautiful she is.

"It's dinner time sweetheart. Then we'll give you a bath and prepare for bed."

I can't help the pout on my face at the mention of sleep, hugging Hiro around his neck. But I'm still full of energy… Well, I guess I can meditate or 'observe' everything in my room for the hundredth time. Hanami is still a civilian despite being a part of our clan, even with our special body she still need sleep. I shouldn't bother her too much… So I nod slightly to her, accepting this. It's not like I have any say in what happens anyway…. Father put me down on the floor, giving me the chance to walk on my own as the two of them make their way to the kitchen. I beam proudly after them, glad that they've come to understand that I want to walk on my own if I can. I'm so very happy I was born into this family.

I waddle after them towards the kitchen, proud of myself that I didn't fall once. I walk up to my chair, looking up at Hiro expectedly as I point to my chair.

"Papa, up!"

He let out a soft chuckle as he lift me up into my chair, gently kissing my head once I'm settled down.

"You're getting better at talking, Mio-chan. I'm so proud."

"We both are."

Hanami say softly, setting the dinner on the table while I get my own bowl of mashed food. I really like the mashed food, it always tastes good when Hanami make it with a nice mix of taste. I beam proudly at the two of them before I pick up my spoon, not realising how hungry I was until just now. I eat my food with my left hand, something Yohio suggested that I switch the hand I eat with for every meal. I remember I got a skill for it but I don't remember what it was… But it's just as easy to eat with my right hand as it is with my left, it's very comfortable if I do say so myself.

I listen to my parents as they're planning my birthday party tomorrow, my chest happily buzzing all the while. Any child would be excited for their birthday, but I know I'm most excited that Taro will let me access my 'gamer menu' that he's been talking about. I can't wait to explore it properly! Of course I also look forward to meeting everyone in my family again, it's always fun to meet everyone.

Just like Hanami said, after dinner comes a comfortable bath and then bedtime. Mother sing her usual lullaby to me, having tucked me into my bed and is slowly stroking my head to try and coax me to sleep. Sometimes I succeed in staying awake as she does this and sometimes I fall asleep. Granted, I fall asleep more often than I stay awake with how soothing it is. Being surrounded by a warm blanket, head stroked and hearing her gentle lullaby with the wind howling outside is really relaxing. So I'm not surprised when this is one of those times where I lose the battle of sleep.

* * *

I'm content to chew on one of my numerous chewing toys, my teeth still sprouting from my gums and hurting as they do. My birthday came and went, a very happy celebration with almost everyone in the family. Like with Yohios birthday, Shiro-sama wished me good luck on the tasks I have ahead of me. Shiro-sama is a really nice old man, but I can clearly see how his body is struggling to stay intact. I doubt he'll survive much longer… It pains me a little to think about it. but it's the truth.

I got many, many presents from my family members. Most of them were clothes, all ranging from girly pretty to neutral and practical. I mostly wear the comfortable clothes with a bit of help from my mother and those are usually dresses or onsies. I also got some new puzzles to figure out, some children books to read and a few blunt weapons. When I stared confused at Uncle Daisuke, he just said that it's to get me used to holding them. I almost forgot that I'm being trained to be a shinobi, a ninja. Those fight a lot… Well, no matter what kind of profession I'm training towards, I'm just looking forward to having something to do during the day. I always feel so restless without something to do…

Speaking of something to do, I've finally gotten access to my gamer stats from Taro! That's what I'm doing right now as I'm chewing on my toy, which is helping me greatly on focusing on my task at hand. When I think or say 'menu' I access the user menu. Not the main menu that I reach when I say 'pause' but a different one. In the user menu I can actually see everything around me.

the user menu consist of … different buttons, all in red since that's the theme colour I chose. In order it has 'Character Status', 'Skills List', 'Inventory', 'Quest Log', 'Game Manual', 'Party' and 'Map'. I already have a mini map in the corner of my eye but I imagine the map will be really useful later on. The first thing I checked once I had the time was my stats, and I was not disappointed with my mental stats.

 **Name:** Mio Masago **Class** : Gen 4 gamer **Age:** 1

 **Titles** : None

 **Status:** Normal

 **Level:** 0 **EXP:** 80/100

 **HP:** 95 **HP Regen:** 1.2/minute

 **CP:** 270 **CP Regen:** 12.6/minute

 **STR:** 1

 **VIT:** 2

 **PE:** 3

 **WIS:** 9 (+1.5) = 10.5

 **INT:** 14 (+1.5) = 15.5

 **SE:** 26

 **DEX:** 4 (+6.5) = 10.5

 **AGI:** 3

 **LUK:** 3

 **Fame/Infamy:** 0/0

 **Unspent points:** 5

 **Money:** 0

That Spiritual energy, SE, is something I pride myself in. Since I haven't been able to work physically I've worked a lot mentally. The fact that my intelligence is so high shows with how fast I am at solving the easy children puzzles. Another thing I checked was my skills list and was pleasantly surprised by them. I had more than I thought I'd have.

I have 'Observe' which let me observe an object or a person and receive information of them. I have 'Ambidextrous' that let me use either hand easily, 'Nimble fingers' that increase the finer control of my fingers and 'Meditate' that let me recover CP faster than just waiting around. Those were the ones I've received over my first year here, but I had three more that I didn't know about…

 **Gamer's mind (Passive) Level: MAX**

+Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Enables a calm and peaceful mindset and immunity to psychological status effects.

+Provides a mental shield against memory modifications and alteration of any kind where someone can see the users memories of the past. This shield allows only those members of the clan who has been reborn to penetrate it, no other chakra signature can

 **Gamer's body (Passive) Level: MAX**

+Grants a body that allows the user to live real life as a game.

+sleeping fully recovers HP and CP and removes all negative status effects.

 **Reset user (Passive) Level: MAX**

+A rarity in the clan that gives you a permanent boost in EXP of any kind to give you an edge over the rest of the clan.

+Has memories of your past life about this worlds future that could decide the fate of those around you. **Memory status:** Locked

+Has access to the special library in the shop and can also adjust a party members status as well as their title. Party members cannot see if you adjust their status unless they too are a reset user.

+Is able to create their own Jutsus based off their memories of the past.

+Will receive more quests for extra EXP

Seeing that I have locked memories of the future made me understand Shiro's words… He and everyone else in the clan expect me to use my future knowledge once I do unlock it. If I could speak properly, I'd ask Shiro or Taro all of the questions I have. Perhaps even Yohio has the answers I seek, but I don't want to burden him since he's training in the academy to become a ninja. And this gamer's mind, it explains why I haven't been freaking out about my rebirth and the overall sense of calm I experience…

This 'gamer's body' also seems really useful. Our clan is really powerful with only that at our disposal, now put a bunch of jutsus only we can perform and our advancement in anything we do and you get one powerful individual. I wonder when my memories will unlock… and what kind of Jutsus I can preform. But that's a question I have to ask once I'm actually able to ask it… I'm very pleased with my stats and had Aiko help me a bit with what else I can do with my menu once they had time.

Later on that week when I had just finished reading through the last book I received for my birthday together with Hanami, I get a notification that I unlocked a new skill. Curious, I looked it over.

 **Reading (Passive) Level: 1 EXP: 000%**

+Allows the user to read faster and comprehend the book's content.

+1% WIS and INT

+2% reading speed

Ooooh that's a very useful ability. It raises both my wisdom and intelligence! There are a lot of skills I have that are passive and always increase my stats. And I know that high stats means that you're more powerful, those are all really useful. I look up to Hanami excitedly, pointing at the window. I briefly wonder if she even sees this window, but considering her wide smile, I think she can.

"Mama, look!"

"Mnhm, I see Mio-chan. Want to read even more books to level it up?"

I nod, happy that she understand what I want to do. Now that I can see my skills and character stats I can see what they can do. Through that I'm more motivated to level them up, especially Meditation now that I could actually see what it gives me. Now I also understand why Yohio said they'll be important later on.

It's time for some serious grinding of the skills I have acquired, the skills I'm able to use that is. I'm sure there are more skills I can get but with how my body is I can't get them all yet. I'm sure it's something we'll go through once I start training with my dad. But for now, I do what I can with what I have.

* * *

Please review or message if you have any questions!

 **This chapter's question:** Have the Sharingan or the Byakugan?


	3. Two years old

Hey!

I figured since last chapter was a bit short, and this chapter is also a little on the shorter side, I'd update a little sooner than on Monday.

Also, I'd really love to have your opinion on my story, I just wanna know if I'm doing something right by writing this one. It's a new concept that I haven't seen any gamer fanfics take and I wonder if it's a good concept. So please tell me?

* * *

Two years old

6 months has passed since my last birthday and I'm finally, _finally_ ready for my clan training. My boring days of just hanging around the house, restless and doing whatever I can to increase the skills I have are over. Some days I've been so restless that I've even gotten to follow mother to the market. I've gotten a lot better at walking so I can keep up with her as long as she walks slow.

The village absolutely amazing. It's a lot better than how I imagined it to be from seeing my clan compound. The streets are wide to allow people to walk through town with a sense of open comfort. There are numerous bridges and walkways above the street for fast ninja travel, something I got to see some ninjas use. Every house have a similar round or cylinder shape to give harmony to the village, all built in the same sand material. There's sand everywhere you go, but no one seems to mind. I could see children running around and playing, feeling happy in this village despite the sun blazing down on their backs. Suna is really warm no matter the time of the year, but I really enjoy the heat. It's something I find comfort in…

There are also a few 'Masago' who own the major shops in our village, which I got really curious about. I thought we were the only other Masago there is… But I haven't had time or thought of asking that question yet, maybe I should soon... Hanami said I could go to the market on my own once I get old enough, since we Resets want to be independent as soon as possible. With good reason of course, since it just seems strange be taken care of. Pleasant but strange… I've also gone to the playground with Yohio, Aiko, the twins and Yuuto a few times, just to play with them all. We mostly keep to ourselves and don't involve other kids but it's still fun. It's through those play times that I got 'Running', 'Stealth', 'Jumping' and 'Balance'. All of those which will be useful for my training that is, actually, starting today. I'm standing in front of my father, back straight and eyes twinkling in anticipation. Finally, _finally_. Hiro is smiling gently at my enthusiasm.

"Ready for your first training Mio-chan?"

"Ready!"

I shout out in return, throwing my hands up in the air.

"What're we gonna do firsts?! Run? Jump? I'm good at those!"

Hiro laugh at my enthusiasm, crouching down to be more in level with me and lightly ruffle my curly dark red hair. I've decided to keep it short for practicality and now I've gotten rather fond of the haircut. While I adore my mother's long black hair, it wouldn't suit me since I'll be an awesome ninja who can fight and run around the village helping people.

"Not quite yet, Mio-chan. First, I want you to invite me to your personal party. That way, I can have a look at your stats and see what we need to work on first."

I nod to his words, calling up my menu through the 'menu' command and press the 'party' button. Pressing my finger on the 'invite to party' button, I then point to Hiro, thus inviting him to my party. It's a very efficient way to invite people to your party, Aiko showed me the easiest way to invite someone. Sure, you can go through a whole list of every single person you know the name of to find the right person, but if they're right next to you it's just easier to point at them.

After Hiro has accepted my invitation, I can see his brief character description in my party screen. As father look over my own stats, I look over his and is surprised when I can't see all of his stats… Is it cause my observation skill is too low or just cause my overall level is too low? The only stats I can see are his name, age, class, title and Level. All his other stats are just question marks all over them.

Father's full name is Hiro Masago. He's 27 years old, kinda young honestly, and is a 'generation 3 gamer' instead of my 'generation 4 gamer'. He's level 59 which means he leveled up at least 2 times/year through his time, that's kinda impressive. His title 'proud father' makes me smile happily and I press it to know more about it. It gives him a boost to all stats if his daughter, me, is ever in danger, a 40% increase! It also gives his daughter, me, increased motivation to prove myself by 30%. It also gives him an automatic 30% increased admiration for anything I do. Huh, no wonder why I always felt so determined to succeed on my own around my parents… I wonder if Hanami also has a similar title. And that also answers the question why they celebrate every little thing I succeed in.

"Alright then Mio-chan."

I look up at father as he address me, blinking curiously. Seeing as he got my attention, he smile gently at me.

"I've looked over your stats now. Are there any skills you think you should level up more?"

I grin brightly as he ask this, exiting the party screen to look over my skills list instead. Just to see what level everything is on.

"Running, Balance, Stealth and Jumping are all skills I got while playing in the park, Running and Jumping give me boosts in Agility and Vitality so they're super useful. But I'd also like to unlock more skills! They help me to have a goal to work towards!"

Hiro nod slightly, a wide smile on his face.

"Of course, we're going to unlock more skills for you. I also saw that you haven't spent any of your points yet, any special reason why?"

"Well…" I start off, tapping my chin in thought. "I got lots of points from birthday and one level up, but I dun wanna use it yet. I wanna know what we gonna do in training before I use points, I dun wanna get better by cheating. I wanna get better by training!"

 **Ding! Thanks to your wise thinking you gain +1 Wisdom!**

I grin widely at the notice, placing my hands on my hips proudly. I'm smart! Father chuckle softly at me, gesturing towards the training field inside our compound.

"Run three laps around the track, Mio-chan while I set up some training dummies, ok?"

I nod and is happy to fulfill his request, my chubby little legs moving to get me to the running track and start the first lap. It's a kinda small training ground so it fits well with three laps as a start. As I continue to run I start to think about my cousins, namely the twins who will be graduating soon. Sho and Setsuko are the top students from what I've heard from Hiro. It's always expected that a Masago is the top student, which would also be easy considering our gaming power. The two of them are both Level 10, which means they've gone up at least 1 Level each year after they turned 2. I wonder how everyone increase their Level… Is it through missions? Both missions as a ninja and quests as a gamer. Maybe also if they beat their opponents...

I also got my answer about my memory lock. I'll be able to unlock my memory once I reach a value of 40 in intelligence and value of 20 in Vitality. My body need to be prepared enough for the physical shock of the memories and my mind need to be able to process it properly. That's also why I've been reading a lot lately, to increase my intelligence and level up my 'Reading' ability. The faster I can read the faster I can read through books and the more intelligence I can gain. I really need those memories. It feels like I'm always missing something important… Something that I should know.

When I finished with my laps my running went up a level and my vitality went up by 1 point too. I'm panting softly as I walk up to my father, waiting for his next instructions. I'll get through this training! I will pass every course so that I can get skills and get stronger. A quest window suddenly pop up, making me blink in surprise as I read it.

 **Quest alert!**

 **Pass your first training**

Pass all the challenges your father has set up for you today without crying! Make him proud.

Quest reward: Gain +30 EXP, Gain +2 VIT

Quest failure: None

 **[Yes] [No]**

I, of course, press 'Yes' since EXP is always good to have. I've gotten a lot of these kind of mundane quests. But I'm not complaining, it's free EXP, I'll always need it to level up. I beam happily at father, excited for the next exercise. He gesture to two straw dummies, one large and one small, that he's set up, a proud smile on his face.

"Let's start with your punches. We'll go through them together ok? After that we'll work with your kicks. Since you're still small we'll only do that for physical training, but then we'll move onto balance and flexibility. I'll be teaching you our clan's special taijutsu and it's made to let you adjust it to your own style once you get older. The academy's taijutsu is different from ours, so we start off early with our own."

I nod happily at every statement he makes, so glad to finally be able to do something. And with my gamer's body I can train by myself whenever I want to if father is off doing missions. This is going to be the start of something great! As long as I work hard, I'll become the best ninja ever! Not as good as any of my cousins, of course, since they're older than me. But I'll do my absolute best in anything I do!

At the end of our training, my hands and ankles are aching from punching and kicking the straw dummy. I feel exhausted even if we didn't do that much physical activity but it really shows how much work I have ahead of me. I got **+3** points in VIT total and **+3** in STR. I also got **+2** in AGI when we practiced my balance and flexibility, which also gave me a new skill.

 **Flexibility (Passive) Level: 1 EXP: 054%**

+Allows the user to be more flexible.

+2% evasion

I wonder if everyone went through this kind of training when they were my age. I'm only 2 and a half years old, do Masago clan put other normal kids through this training even if they aren't reborn? … Well it would make sense if they did since we all got 'gamer's body' to help us. As I'm sitting down on the ground, panting softly in exhaustion, a red window pop up in front of me.

 **Ding! You've completed a quest!**

 **Pass your first training**

Pass all the challenges your father has set up for you today without crying! Make him proud.

Quest reward: Gain +30 EXP, Gain +2 VIT

I grin up at my father, wiping away a stray tear. I'm not used to feeling pain, but I got through the training without crying one bit! I made it to the end!

"I got through without crying papa!"

"That you did, Mio-chan."

Hiro says proudly, a wide grin on his face to show those smile lines under his eyes that I've come to adore. He crouch down so he can pick me up, gently nuzzling into my temple despite how sweaty I am. I giggle loudly at the action, hugging father around his neck as he continue to speak.

"I'm so proud of you my little girl. Now, can you guess how long we've been training?"

I look at the time that's beside my little mini-map in the right corner of my vision, grinning up at father afterwards. I remember what time it was before we started.

"One hour!"

"That's right. So every morning we'll do this kind of training and stretch it out a little longer for each training. Then when you turn three we'll train even longer so that your body can get used to it slowly. And once you're three and a half, we'll start with your chakra so you can make Jutsus in the future! Alright Mio-chan?"

I nod at his explanation, eyes sparkling in excitement. In a year I'll get to learn chakra! I'm so glad I can start out early, I'll be the best ninja I can be and save all the people I can!

"It great! Papa, papa! I'm gonna be the bestest ninja and save all the people!"

I shout out happily, lifting my arms into the air as father carry me off towards our home. He laugh softly, arms tightening around me to which I happily snuggle into his arms with that constant content buzz in my chest.

"I know you will, Mio-chan… You and Yohio both. You two got a really special gift that will help all of us."

I blink in slight surprise when I can detect an underlying tone of sadness, pulling back slightly to look up at him curiously. He's still smiling, but… something's different with it.

"Papa….?"

I'm just about to ask him what's wrong when I get a notice from my system, making me look at the new red window that appear before me.

 **Ding! A skill has been created through a special action!**

 **Detect emotions (Active) Level: 1 EXP: 000%**

+Allows the user to see the current emotional state of a target, the higher Level the more accurate it is

+5% accurate

Receiving this new skill, I look at father again and mumble 'detect emotion' to have another window pop up in front of me. It says: **Hiro Masago: Sad.** I whine softly, reaching up to gently cup his cheek as the window dismiss itself.

"Why you sad Papa…?"

While I've been doing this, he recovered from his slight slip up and a content light return to his eyes. He lean into my touch, smile widening as silent comfort.

"Oh, nothing Mio-chan. I just wish you could always stay like this…"

I frown slightly in concern for my father but nod slightly. I won't pressure him to tell me.. So I settle for hugging him and nuzzling him as we step into our house. To try and lighten the mood, Hiro poke my side in a way he know it tickles and forcing a quiet giggle from me.

"Now, let's go and wash off, Mio-chan. We don't wanna stink for Shiro-sama's dinner today."

I nod and smile back to my father. I will figure out what made him sad later, but for now I should focus on what I can do… So a bath sounds good. It really does… I let Hiro carry me to the bathroom, letting my worry for him be placed in the back of my mind. For now.

* * *

The whole clan are rigid, the tense atmosphere is thick enough to be cut with a knife. I'm lightly grasping onto my father's sleeve, the 6 year old Yuuto doing the same with his own mother as the children are all nervous over this sudden turn of events. It was supposed to be a nice, peaceful dinner that our clan founder invited us all to just to check how everyone are. But after one sentence from our clan elder, heads are turning towards Shiro-sama with different level of intensity. His two sons stand up in alarm, their respective wives casting worried glances at one another. My uncles and aunts who are present are either staring shocked at our elder, staring at the table or hugging their children closer like Hiro is doing for me. When I look over to Taro, I can see his eyes close in defeat when grandpa Katsuo speak up.

"Don't talk nonsense, no one just happen to know when they die!"

He's glaring hard at his father, not ready to accept his words as fact. I snuggle closer to Hiro, briefly wondering when Shiro-sama's wife had died and if she did the same thing Shiro-sama is doing now. According to both my parents, she had died a year before I was born. And now Shiro-sama says that he'll follow… As a response to his son, he just chuckle raspily and shake his head.

"It's been a long time coming, Katsuo… I'm surprised our maker let me live this long… I got a quest to finish my last wishes last year, I honestly thought I would die sooner…"

He calmly bring up his teacup to his face, hands shaking from the effort as he carefully take a sip. The silence stretches on, my grandparents sitting down as it's clear Shiro-sama want to say something more. After he put his tea down, he look over his clan. His family…

"With my wishes fulfilled, I have received a countdown from our maker… This dinner is my last farewell to you all before I join Natsumi on the other side of our river, in our final game over… I also-"

He gets briefly cut off by a cough, making me hug my father tighter in worry for our elder as he soon recover. Final game over… I guess for our clan we can't really die and see it as the end with our saves. But to call it a final game over… It sounds so morbid. After Shiro-sama recovered he continue.

"I also wish the best of luck… To our new children."

He look at me and my cousins with a wrinkly, warm smile. He doesn't look scared… not at all. He looks… happy in a way. Knowing this, I relax and smile back once his gaze meet mine. I really wish I could've gotten to know him better.

"Yohio-kun… Mio-chan… Since both of you are Resets, people who have been reborn, it's up to one of you to lead our clan when that time comes."

I look over to my cousin, seeing him look at me in return. I nod to him, smiling wider, I know he'll be the one to take over the clan between the two of us. But… I look to Shiro-sama, raising my hand to ask for permission to speak up. I don't want to offend him in any way after all, but the old man chuckle and motion for me to speak up. I let go of my father, standing up as I properly address my elder. It's not something I've been taught… I just know that I need to respectful towards him.

"Shiro-sama. Why are only Resets allowed to be clan head? Aiko is the oldest so shouldn't she lead?"

"Good question, Mio-chan"

Taro praise me, glancing towards Shiro-sama to get permission to speak for him. Seeing as the old man is coughing again, Shiro-sama nod slightly to the current clan leader and Taro turn towards me with a kind smile.

"Some important abilities are only accessed by a Reset gamer. Only a Reset can unlock memories for example, making another Reset remember their past life and this world's future. A Reset also has a power boost, as I'm sure you've noticed, and has access to high level energy jutsus. Only us Resets have the ability to create our own new jutsus from the memories of our past. For example, I have made a less effective copy of Sannin Tsunade's body healing technique from having memories of the second shinobi war in my memory. As another example, only I among my siblings can learn the ability 'energy fortress' which is a hard protection barrier that surround everyone in my party with little to none chakra cost. You and Yohio will also be able to learn those kind of jutsus and as a clan head, it's important to be able to protect their clan but also prepare for the next generation. That's why Shiro-sama want resets to be the clan head, to lower the risk of anyone in the clan getting hurt unnecessarily."

I absorb this information for a few seconds before nodding, frowning slightly in confusion as another thought comes to mind. I shouldn't question the clan head too much though, there might be another reason why Resets are the clan head, a reason I'm not ready to hear of yet. So I nod a second time to Taro, bowing to Shiro-sama before I sit back down again to listen if they have something else to say. Shiro-sama, having recovered from his coughing spree, smile at all of us with a happy glint in his tired eyes.

"I'm glad that you all are my family, truly… Though I might be gone, you will all do splendidly without my presence. Now, I'm just an old man…."

He then motion with his hand as a 'shoo' motion as he look towards me and my cousins specifically.

"Now, you children can go outside and play. The adults need to talk a bit on their own."

All of us nod and I stand up to give goodbye kisses to my mother and my father. Aiko is the first to walk out of the room, Yohio following her soon after. As I too walk towards the door, the twins appear on either side of me to grab hold of my hands. I laugh as I let them lead me out, a small blush on my face as I look up at them.

"Shoooo, Setsukooo, I dun need help to walk anymore!"

The male twin just grin at my playful whining, looking over at his sister as we all exit the room. Their brown eyes are gleaming in amusement as a silent thought pass between the two of them. I soon get to know what they're planning as they both lift me up in the air by my arms, swinging me in between them. I shriek loudly in surprise and glee, little legs kicking with cheeks rosy in delight. I beg them to do it again and they comply, being the great cousins that they are. When I focus on Aiko and Yohio who have both exited the house to enter the clan compound yard, I can see that the two siblings are having a tickle fight with Aiko winning.

As the twins set me down, I look up at Setsuko, lightly tugging on her shirt to make sure I have her attention.

"Setsuko, Setsuko! I got vitality 10.5 now! I just gotta work up my intelligence and Vitality a little more and I'll be able to unlock my memories!"

The girl laughs at my excitement, reaching down a hand to lightly ruffle my dark red curly hair.

"If you manage to unlock your memories BEFORE I graduate, then I'll be impressed. Until then, keep on working little Cherry."

"They should've named you after 'bird's nest' instead of Cherry with how messy your hair is. It's like a dirty mop."

Sho says, teasing Yuuto by 'stealing' his nose and holding his hand up in the air out of his reach. Huffing and pouting at his mean remark, I decide to help Yuuto out by tackling Sho with my whole weight from behind. It's not much weight to speak for, but it's enough to throw him off balance. Yuuto is quick to follow my example, tackling into him with a playful war cry and causing Sho to fall under the weight of two toddlers. Setsuko snicker in amusement over her brothers predicament, not at all coming to her brothers aid when me and Yuuto start to tickle him. We're all laughing as we ignore his pleads of mercy despite the fact that he can get out of our 'attack' all on his own. He doesn't need any help to escape, he's soon a ninja! Once he decides it's enough, it's mine and Yuuto's turn to be trapped, held captive with a tight hug by the oldest twin. I'm quick to return the hug, still giggling happily and chest buzzing as I'm surrounded by love. I really adore my family.

Once our parents exit Shiro-sama's house, they all have solemn expressions on their faces. I was building a sand pile with Yuuto, not a castle since the sand doesn't stick together well, and look up curiously at my parents. I blink a few times, head tilting slightly as I let the spade I am holding rest on the ground. Noticing that I'm looking towards the house, Yuuto does the same and his expression shift into one similar to my own. I stand up and run over to my parents, latching onto my mother's leg as I look between the two of them worriedly.

"Is… Shiro-sama…?"

I don't want to say it, the thought of final death is scary, especially since my life just started. Father smile sadly at my silent question, crouching down so he can pick me up and letting me rest on his hip. Mother gently kiss my forehead, an equally sad smile on her face.

"Yes… Yes he is, Mio-chan… Anything you wanna do before bedtime?"

I look between the two of them, softly mumbling 'Detect emotion' to activate my skill. Two separate windows appear for my two parents: **Hiro Masago: Worried** , **Hanami Masago: Scared**. This confuses me though… If Shiro-sama just died, why would they be worried and scared? I frown at the two of them, getting worried myself as I pat my father's chest.

"Papa, Mama, why are you scared…? Did something happen..?"

Hiro chuckle nervously, shaking his head and kissing my forehead as a form of comfort.

"It's nothing you gotta worry about Mio-chan. It's just adult worries. Did you have fun with your cousins?"

I nod with a slight smile in return, grabbing onto my father's shirt lightly. I'm still worried over my parents worry… But I'll wait. I'll be patient… They'll tell me if I really need to know, I'm sure of it.

"Mnhm, I helped Yuuto get back his nose from Sho, then we all played some tag and then I built a sand castle with Yuuto. I love our family!"

I nod with an wider smile on my face, the happy buzz lingering in my chest. I wonder what the buzz is, but it feels comfortable so I don't mind it at all.

"Hiro-san! Hanami-san!"

Our little family of three turn towards Yohio as he approach, a wide happy grin on his face. He seems excited over something, shifting on the balls of his feet.

"Can I take Mio out to see my friend? I promised him we'd meet up today and I think it'd be fun if Mio met him too!"

As I look up at my parents, mentally begging them to let me come with, the two of them share uneasy glances with one another. When they look back at my begging expression and how confident Yohio seems, Father start to relax with an uneasy smile.

"Well… Alright then, Yohio-kun… Just come back with her before 5, she needs her dinner and energy to train tomorrow morning."

I cheer in glee, reaching up to kiss his cheek as thanks before I'm set down on the ground. Mother seems less fond of the idea, but I'm thankful she let me go anyway. Besides, it's Yohio! He's always nice and takes care of me, I adore getting out of the compound any moment I'm able to.

"Thank you papa! Mama!"

I hug both of them around their legs before I run over to Yohio, the boy is already standing by the gates and waiting for me. As soon as I reach his side, I grab onto the offered hand and follow him outside the compound. I'm almost trembling in excitement, being so happy that I'm able to step outside as long as one of my cousins are with me. It's gotten more and more boring to be confined within the walls of our clan settlement, I have seen everything there is to see in there and I want to explore more!

Yohio laugh at my excitement, the recently made 10 year old lifting me up to carry me on his back. Knowing what this meant, I wrap my legs around his waist and arms around his shoulders, a wide grin across my face.

"You ready Mio-chan~?"

An excited nod is my only answer and we're soon jumping and zooming through the village through the shinobi 'roads' with me laughing and cheering all the while. I can't wait until I can be this fast myself! I wonder who Yohio's friends are, I'm sure they're super nice since Yohio is nice. Maybe they can be my friends too! It isn't that far apart from us in age, only 7 years, that's not too much. I'm sure I'll get even more friends once I'm in school, I'll be nice to everyone after all.

A few months later I'd understand why Hiro was so sad.

A few years later I'd understand why my parents were scared.

A few years later…

I'd be forced into war...

* * *

Some foreshadowing at the end there~.

 **This chapter's question:** How would you prefer to die? Crushed by heavy object, hit by a car or getting shot?


	4. Three years old

Hey! Here's another chapter. Woop!

This one is one of the little longer chapters, introducing a new side of Mio. Still a few jumps in time, but I hope it's not too confusing. I want the story to be cohesive yet not have to write out every single day.

Also, thank you SnowCatt for answering my question! I've adjusted the story accordingly~. X3

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 _This text_ : Means memory flashes from her past life

Three years

As another birthday pass, I receive better gifts than I got last time, at least from my point of view. I receive more books to read, since I find reading very calming, and throwing weapons suited for my size. My father and I have already started my throwing lessons with the three different weapons, so I'm thankful to get my own and not always ask for my father's or cousin's set to borrow.

Being 3 years old also means I'm starting to lose more of my baby fat. My limbs are getting easier to control and I can handle longer training sessions, which has also helped me in boosting my stats by a lot. I think it's part of being a reset, having it so easy to get stronger with the EXP bonus I have for anything I do. This also makes me wonder how the others who are not resets increase their Level… I am now Level 2, but I haven't received another quest since that happened. Yohio said that I'll get more quests once I enter the academy, just like everyone else does in our family, but I can't help the slight worry of me falling behind…

What if I can't Level up as much as I want to? If I'm not Level 10 when I graduate, like Sho and Setsuko were, I'd be really ashamed of myself… No one has any special way to increase their Level, only missions they receive once they've graduated, defeating opponents and receiving quests. But defeating opponents would mean hurting people really badly… I'm not sure I want to do that. I want to be a ninja to protect people, not hurt them.

Father is once again off on a mission together with one of his siblings, leaving the others in the compound. Aiko has turned 17 and is taking on harder missions, just like our parents. She's become Jounin, the higher ranks of Sunagakure and can lead her own team if she wants to even at such a young age. Yohio will soon graduate from the academy, just like Sho and Setsuko did a year ago. The twins have their own team, running missions within the village when they're not doing minor missions outside the village to help in the war effort. Yuuto is ahead of his class, but he refuse to skip a year due to the friends he has. So he's practicing with his mother and father often to get better, lucky that both of his parents are ninja to teach him lessons that the Academy never tell you of the ninja work.

I take a deep breath, sitting on the porch facing our back yard as I try to focus on my breathing for meditation, to feel my chakra circle through me. With the year gap between all of us, I feel like I'm being left behind. I haven't even entered the academy yet and soon all of my cousins will be out in the village and running missions to help our home. I need to get stronger to keep up, I don't want to be the one the others protect and I refuse to be any kind of liability. It always feels like I'm in some sort of rush… That I have to get better quickly or things will end badly. I guess it's due to my still locked memories, but I don't understand why I have to be in such a rush to get stronger. Is the future really that dangerous…? Does the future really hold such dangerous events that even with them inaccessible, I still feel impatient with gaining power?

I take another deep breath, frowning as I focus on my chakra. Meditation helps in making me think despite how it should do the opposite… All the thoughts I push to the back of my mind come forth as I meditate, leaving my mind in a jumbled yet controlled mess. I try to focus on my surroundings… How the gentle warm breeze stroke my cheeks, the sun shining on my face and the gentle shifting of dry sand. As I focus more on my surroundings, I start to feel it more clearly… How the chakra in the air shift around me as I even out my breathing. I can feel my mother in the kitchen, her presence warm and welcoming like a small pool of warm water. I can feel my own chakra more clearly, buzzing and turning in my chest as it constantly shift shapes, as if it can't decide on how it should form itself right at this moment.

Sometimes it's sharp and jagged, sometimes smooth yet erratic, sometimes warm like a blazing sun, sometimes cool and still, sometimes steadfast and pulsing. I can never understand why my chakra is how it is, but I find comfort that Yohio and Taro's chakra are both acting in the same way. Perhaps it's another thing only Resets have… The feeling of chakra is unique to every person and every thing, it's calming to be able to distinguish what is what and who is who by feeling alone.

I hear a slight 'ding' around me, indicating that my meditation has gone up another Level. I smile in satisfaction, opening my eyes and letting my body relax from its upright position. Finally it leveled up, it's getting harder and harder to level up my skills. Understandable but still annoying since I want to catch up as soon as I can. My father may say that there's no reason to rush my progress in any way, but I just can't get rid of the feeling that I need to be better. I need to be stronger as soon as possible…

Deciding that it's enough meditation for today, I stand up and walk back inside my home, closing the door after me to not let any more sand into our house. My bare feet are creaking against the wooden floor boards as I make my way towards the kitchen where I know my mother is located. She's making us lunch before I have my meeting with Taro. I'm going to have my memory unlocked, leveling my skills enough and reading enough books to reach a high enough Intelligence to handle my past memories. Gaining enough Vitality was easy through the daily training routine I did with my father. Even when he was off on a mission, I trained every day, even longer than we usually do to have a better chance of leveling up my skills and stats. Today, I can finally get to know why I have a constant sense of urgency… Why I am constantly demanding more from myself than what's probably healthy.

Hanami smile at me once she sees that I've entered the kitchen, her gaze warm and making my chakra buzz happily in return. Father said that the buzz in my chest is there so I can recognize who my family are, to assure me that I'm safe whenever my family is near. It's good to know that it's nothing unusual at least.

"Mio-chan. Done with meditation for today?"

I nod as I push a stool closer to the counter and climb up on it.

"Yeah. My meditation leveled up. Didn't you hear the ding?"

I look at my mother curiously as I'm standing on the stool, now able to reach the counter and help properly if I can. Hanami smile wider at me, shifting the cutting board and knife she was using over to me so I can finish cutting the carrots for her. I lean over to the sink and quickly rinse my hands from dirt before I start cutting them for her, concentrated on my task with handling a knife.

"No, I didn't. Your father has changed his title for his mission, so I'm not connected to the gamer power right now."

I blink and turn towards her at her answer, watching as she's stirring the stew she's making for us with a large serving spoon. Not connected? This is the first time I've heard about that…

"Whatcha mean…? Papa having another title? Not connected? But I thought you could always see and hear gamer ability."

My mother shake her head lightly, still smiling as she stir the chicken she's currently frying in a frying pan. I place the knife I'm holding on the cutting board to not accidentally cut myself as I listen to her answer.

"No, I'm not always connected. When I got married into this clan, Hiro got a title that connects me to your gamer ability. It's only if Hiro use titles that connect me to him, like our marriage or you, our daughter, that I can see what you're doing."

I nod slowly as I process this, blinking a few times. That makes another question come to my mind.

"So does that mean you can't use our gamer at all? Only see it? But I thought everyone in our clan could use it."

Mother turn towards me with a wider smile, leaning closer to place a gentle kiss to my forehead. This makes me smile and let a happy blush spread on my cheeks, my chakra buzzing louder at the love I feel from my mother. She giggle softly at my reaction, gently stroking through my hair.

"No, Mio-chan, I can't use it in any way. I can use a few voice commands, but I don't have the power itself. The most I can do is 'voice chat' with anyone in our clan that want to contact me. Other than that, I can only see what you do."

I nod and bring up my character menu, pointing to it as I look at my mother.

"So you can't see this cause Papa has another title?"

My mother nods in confirmation an says 'exactly' before she returns to stirring the chicken. She also remind me to chop the carrots, so I quickly return to the task I was previously handed. But that's really interesting, that only those born with it can use it. I had no idea…

I finish cutting the carrots, letting mother put the cut carrots into the stew she's made. Seeing as she doesn't give me anything more to do, I climb up on the counter to reach the above cupboard and take out two plates so I can set the table. Placing the plates on the counter, I climb down to stand on the stool before I take the plates and jump down. I'm so glad that I can finally help like this. I'm getting more and more independent for each year… with how far behind I am in training, I feel content that I'm at least growing up. Slowly but it's something. I just hope that I never get that de-buff Yohio has complained and warned me about…

A de-buff that limit the level and base skill value due to age… a de-buff that limit your physical performance due to a growth spurt… I really hope I don't get those, I need to be stronger and soon. At least I get to know today why I have this constant sense of urgency to me…

After me and mother have eaten our stew, talking a bit about my progress in training and what books I've finished reading that she's borrowed for me from the library, the two of us make our way towards Taro's house hand in hand. I'm looking at the larger building, a determined but worried frown on my face. I'll forever be the youngest, but with this knowledge I'll be able to do something. Be able to do something for everyone in my clan… Maybe I can create a new special Jutsu with my memories, I'm determined to protect everyone.

Once we entered, mother lead me towards the meeting room since that's where Taro said he'd meet us. I open the door and Taro is sitting there in the middle of the room on a soft pillow, two pillows placed in front of him to let us have a seat. I don't waste any time, walking forward to bow towards Taro before I sit down seiza style on the pillow like my clan leader is. I have to show respect after all… Once mother has joined beside me, Taro look between the two of us before focusing his gaze on me.

"Well then… Are you sure you want to unlock your memories already, Mio-chan? You're only three years old, Yohio didn't decide to unlock his until he was five. You might not view the world in the same way once your memory is unlocked… You still have a childhood to experience…"

Mother move a hand to lightly place it on my knee, showing her silent support for any choice I make. I take a deep breath, thinking this over one last time to make sure that I want to do this. Still feeling a sense of urgency, I nod in determination at Taro and spare a slight glance to Hanami before I solely focus on our clan leader.

"Yes, I'm sure… I always feel like I gotta hurry, Taro-san. Like-... Like there's going to be something huge, something dangerous that I need to be ready for. I feel like I gotta catch up to my cousins even if I know I'm younger and is supposed to be weaker. It never feels like I'm doing enough…"

I look down at my lap in shame as I voice these thoughts, having had the same conversation with my two parents. Mother lightly squeeze my hand as support, I'm so thankful to have her…

"I need to know why I have these thoughts. I need to know exactly what I'm dreading about the future… Why I always feel the need to push past my limits..."

I can feel Taro's hard gaze on me as I keep my own directed at my lap. After a few more moments of silence, I can hear Taro sigh and I look up just in time to see him nod slightly at my request. He doesn't seem happy about it, but he will do it… For my sake.

"Alright, Mio-chan… I've seen your stats and they're high enough to accept your past memories."

I smile slightly as he says this, nodding to him. Taro open his eyes, his neon green gaze meeting my own. There is a coldness in his eyes that I'm not used to, making me instinctively straighten my back. His eyes are so dark…

"If you feel any kind of pain or if I notice that you're suffering from your past after this ordeal, I will not hesitate to lock your memories once more and personally put a heavy de-buff title on you so you will not be able to make the progress you want to have. Having memories of the future is dangerous and will be sought after by everyone outside our village if your ability ever comes to light. Do I make myself clear?"

I nod quickly in agreement to these terms, frowning as I'm determined to see this through. I love having fun when I'm able to, but with how I've been feeling lately it feels like I can't completely relax. It's gotten worse and worse since I started training with father and seen the huge gap between me and my cousins. I need to know why so I can get some sort of peace. Seeing the determination in my eyes, Taro reach out to gently place a hand on top of my head, his green eyes starting to glow softly. I blink when I see this focusing on his eyes as they're glowing brighter.

"Close your eyes…"

I follow his command, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to steady myself. I can feel his chakra envelop the hand on top of my head.

"Relax… and empty your mind."

I do as he says, relaxing my shoulders as I continue with my even breathing. I focus on the feeling of Taro's chakra, fascinated how it's shifting from it's normal morphing form into some sort of different energy. It's like liquid fire, pure fire and not the warm sun I'm used to. I get slightly nervous as this fire chakra start to enter my body but I keep my calm. I stay still, breathing and relaxed. I want to have my past memories…

I can feel it when Taro flip open the lock that held my memories in it's corner of my mind. I flinch and clench my eyes tightly as I can feel a painful bomb of memories appear in my mind, making my body tremble as I try in vain to limit what I see. I take hold of my head with both hands, fisting my hair and tugging on it in a futile attempt to distract me from the enormous pain, like my head is being split in two. I see flashes of faces, places, feelings, thoughts. I don't know what's happening around me at the moment, too caught up in my past memories to even care. Books, series, hobbies, people, everything that made me who I was back then, it's all thrown upon me all at once. As the images start to fade, there's one that I can't ignore. One that stand out among the rest…

It's a face, a face of someone I know, someone I hold dear. I can feel how my whole body is screaming in pain at the memory, feeling my consciousness drift away as I continue to look at the other person's face. It's lifeless, dead, so terrifyingly void of life. Blood dripping down past their lips with the head having a small hole in their temple, indicating something small went through their head. Went through both of us. That empty gaze continue to haunt me as I see the darkness, soon fading from the world yet desperate to hold on. Then, everything is black, a pure black void, but even in the void I can see those once beautiful bright eyes devoid of any light. Dead light…

I come back from my memories with a scream lodged in my throat, cold sweat covering my body as I can still picture those dead eyes in front of me. I can feel something restrain me and I struggle to get free, thinking that it's that dark void trying to pull me back, trying to pull me away from the happy life I was living. I can feel words leave my throat, but I can't hear what I'm saying with the sound of my loudly beating heart encasing my ears. It isn't until I feel something gentle and warm encase my head, making my body limp and relaxed as this... this energy is forcing it to stop struggling. My eyes are wildly looking around me, unable to get any air into my lungs as I start to panic. Where am I…? Where are they…!? As familiar neon green eyes enter my vision, I latch onto this familiarity, scared that it'll disappear the moment I look away from them. Eventually the block over my ears fade and I can hear my surroundings, I can hear how this person is speaking to me with a calm and even voice.

"Mio, you're Mio… You're Mio now… Deep breaths, I'm here… I'm here…"

My breathing start to calm down as I focus on his voice, still staring into his neon green eyes to anchor myself. As reality start to return to me, I also remember who this is, it's Taro. He's my clan leader and the one who helped me. I'm Mio… I'm Mio Masago… Letting out a heavy breath, I break off from his gaze, focusing on his chest instead as I try to register what just happened. I have my arms wrapped around him, shifting so I can press my face into his chest. I can still see those dead eyes in my minds eye, making me unable to stop my body from trembling.

"It's Taro… You're in Suna… You're Mio Masago, daughter of Hiro and Hanami. You're not in danger."

I take a deeper breath, eyes closing as I focus on him. Focus on his chakra… Focus on the buzz in my chest from being near my family… I slowly start to calm down as I focus on breathing, only opening my eyes again once I know I won't break immediately. I'm still trembling, terrified by those dead eyes I saw…

"I-... I saw… me d-die…"

"I know…"

Taro says calmly, a hand gently stroking along my back.

"You're a really brave girl, you handled it really well… We may have gamer's mind, but our previous death and the trauma behind it is something we can never ignore. It's something that will always affect you…"

I nod meekly at his explanation, wiping some tears from my cheeks as I look up at him. I'm tied more to this reality now, the memories of my past starting to fade slightly to the back of my mind as I focus on Taro.

"W-What-...? I-... can't you ever u-unsee..?"

I didn't notice my mother until now, looking at her as she's holding onto my hand with worry clear on her face. I smile weakly at her to give her some sort of sign that I'm ok, leaning more into Taro's chest. I don't have the patience to wait for his answer, too jagged by what I saw to stay quiet.

"I-I died… I died with someone, s-someone I knew. I-... I saw their d-dead, dead e-eyes… I c-can still see them… I can still see them s-so clearly… T-They died… died in f-front of me before I did…"

I fail to hold back the new wave of tears, more than happy to be shifted into my mother's arms. I cling to her instead, eyes shut tight as I try my best to forget what I just saw. But it's impregnated into my memory…

"The very first memory you see is the one of your death."

Taro says solemnly, making me glance at him as I'm embraced by my mother. He has a sad yet proud smile on his face as he looks at me.

"You handled it so much better than Yohio did, Mio… it only took you 10 minutes to return to reality. I'm very impressed and proud of you… now don't think too much of it for today, sleep with your mother tonight since you will have nightmares. Once the memories have settled you can come back to me and I'll help you sort through them, Alright? Go home for now."

I nod slightly to Taro, sniffing and reaching out with a shaking hand to grasp onto his shirt. I smile weakly at him, still crying but… in a way I'm relieved. It feels like… I've gotten a piece of me back. Just as it's scary, terrifying even, it's comforting…

"T-Thank you Taro…"

Taro lean closer to gently kiss my forehead, standing up with Hanami with a wider smile on his face.

"Get some rest…"

Mother then proceed to carry me away and I nuzzle into her chest to keep her close to me, arms tightening around her neck. I continue to take deep breaths, focusing on the feeling of her chakra and sound of her heartbeat. I need to stay calm… those dead eyes are something I won't see here. Everyone are alive… everyone are safe… I'll figure out why I've been so restless later, right now… I just want to have mother close to me.

 **Ding! Quest completed!**

 **Unlock your memories**

Gain enough to unlock your memories from Taro:

INT over 40: Completed

VIT over 20: Completed

Convince the adults: Completed

Unlock memories: Completed

Quest Reward: +100 EXP, gain +2 in all stats, gain a scroll of description on how to make own Jutsus.

All of us ignore this notification and I quickly exit the window. I… Don't want to be reminded about that right now...

Mother doesn't let me be alone for a single second, carrying me home and staying close to me for the rest of the day. We both do our best to try and ease my mind, reading books, writing calligraphy, drawing, cooking food, solving puzzles, anything to keep my mind and hands busy. As night is drawing closer so does my feeling of dread grow. If I ever stop moving, I'll start to think… I don't want to think right now, not after that. Not after seeing those dead eyes…

As mother help me get ready for bed, I start to get more anxious. My body is trembling and I tightly hold onto her hand as I gaze at the large bed before me. I look up at mother as I can already imagine those eyes stare at me. So frightening… A blank void… I can't control my fear, a feeling that I'm not used to have. My gamer's mind has prevented me from having any sort of deep fear or panic, but it cannot protect me from my fear of death.

"D-Do I really gotta sleep..? I-... I can a-already see the eyes…"

Hanami crouch down to be more in the same level as I, gently kissing my forehead as her hands are placed on my shoulder. I lower my gaze to focus on the floor, taking slow and shuddering breaths to try and calm myself down.

"It's important that you sleep, Mio-chan… It'll help your memories get sorted for you… Just wake me up if you need to so you can look at my eyes instead, alright…?"

I nod slowly at her words, looking up to meet her gaze. Those wonderful, kind brown eyes filled with love. I'll remember them.. I always do. And I really hope it'll be enough to keep the nightmares at bay… We lie down in bed, mother hugging me close as I focus on her heartbeat. I try to relax, focusing on her to calm myself. Making me feel a false sense of security.

Despite knowing I need sleep to sort my memories, I didn't ever want to sleep again after that night. I slept through the whole night… but everything felt like a nightmare. A horrible nightmare which I'm now living in… As I will be forced to stare into more of those horrible dead eyes...

* * *

 _In…_

I'm once again sitting outside, doing breathing exercises to ease my mind. It seems like ever since my memory retrieval, Meditation has become a even better way to distract myself.

 _Out…_

It also helps me in sorting through my memories without sleeping. It gives my body some sort of rest without actually sleeping through the night… I have tried, I really have, but…

 _In…_

Any time I try to relax and sleep, those eyes haunt me. Yohio confirmed that I'll always dream of it. I'm… starting to doubt if I really want to be a ninja anymore. I'll have to…

 _Out… cough as I choke on the air around me. Force away the image. Breathe. In..._

Why does that have to be the trauma I carry with me? Why does it have to be that blank gaze that haunt my dreams? But I can't resist it… I can't pull away from the life I've set my goal towards. I've started running… I can't stop now or it will all consume me.

 _Out…_

There is so much I know... So much I can change… Thanks to Yohio's friend, I know where in time I am concerning what I know of the future. I've sorted through my memories enough to know that at least…

 _In…_

I can steer everything to something better. Something with less bloodshed. Only… I'm not in Konoha where I know every problem within the village that need to be taken care of. I need to get a better understanding of Sunagakure. Maybe… Just maybe I can get permission to travel. Travel around the world, gain knowledge, help with what I know will happen.

 _Out…_

There's what will happen in Kusa… Kirigakure… in the middle of Konoha… All in the future that I can change...

 _In…_

Kirigakure and Konoha are connected in that regard… If I can stop Kiri before that happened, then so many problems would be solved. If I can befriend him… If I don't succeed in stopping it I need to befriend him, before he becomes Mizukage. No one deserves that…

 _Out…_

I need to plan… I'm 3 years old, just started with chakra training. I… unfortunately got that de-buff… Or rather, that title when I tried to level up my running. It's infuriating… **Young child:** all stats and EXP concerning physical properties will be halved until User reach age of 9. That's just-... I need to catch up to the others…! The thought of being held back like that is making my blood boil…!

 _I-_

"Mio! Yuuto-kun is here for you!"

I'm broken out from my meditative trance as mother calls for me, making me open my eyes and look inside with a slight frown.

Why does everyone keep interrupting-!?

I huff and replace my frown with a pout, standing up and walk inside my house again as I force that thought out of my mind. Calm down... As I approach the door, sure enough Yuuto is standing in the opening with a bright grin on his face. His usual straight and neat dark blue hair is in disarray, dirt staining his clothes, limbs and face. It looks like he's been in a scuffle with someone… I blink at his appearance, approaching the 8 year old with my head slightly tilted.

 _Bright cocky grin, dirt on his face. He shouts out that he'll be my protector..._

"Yuuto? Why're you so dirty?"

"Weeeell…"

He giggle and scratch his cheek nervously, the grin never faltering as he's rocking lightly on his feet.

"I tried to catch some lizard for a school project but they're kinda fast for me to grab. Think you can help me catch some? Everyone else are busy with ninja work themselves."

I snort softly at this, honestly surprised to hear this before I nod. Well, it's better than sitting around in the house all day. I start with putting on my headband to keep my hair back, soon sitting down to put on my shoes. Of course I'd help, he's my cousin. But I thought Aiko came back recently…

"Isn't Aiko home though? I know the twins are out of the village and Yohio got missions… But shouldn't Aiko still have a few days off?"

Yuuto frown when I mention Aiko being in the village, huffing as he cross his arms grumpily. I smile slightly, amused by his reaction as I stand up.

"Yeah she's in the village, but she'd rather spend her time with _Kai_. She never got time for anyone else anymore…"

I lightly flick Yuuto in the forehead with my smile growing into a grin, the action so familiar to me even if I've never flicked anyone before. _A childish pout, frowning with warm eyes._ Kai is her boyfriend, of course she'd have one now when she's 18 years old. I'm honestly surprised she didn't get someone sooner, and Yuuto doesn't like how Aiko is never around the compound anymore because of that. I'm glad Aiko has found someone for herself. Kai is a slightly higher Level than she is too, so she doesn't feel like she has to worry about him that much. Besides, her complaining to me and Setsuko about her lack of love life was starting to get a little annoying.

"Oh shut up, Yuuto. Let her spend time with the one she loves. You'll understand when your older~."

I walk past him and out the door, walking slow to let him catch up to me after he's closed the door behind us. Yuuto is frowning, slightly peeved as he stare down at me.

"Hey! I'm older than you, you know."

"Physically, yeah. But I've lived a whooooooole life before you were born."

I counter back, chest puffing out slightly in pride as I walk on with confidence in my steps. Yuuto grumble softly in irritation, knowing that this is true. I can see him think of a good comeback for a few seconds, the two of us exiting the compound before he brighten up and turn to me with a wide teasing grin.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm gonna keep my eye on you. I heard how you snuck away from the group last time just to see Sasoriiiii~."

My cheeks flush slightly red under my pale skin, looking ahead as I frown fiercely. I wish I can just force my blush to go away, but that's not possible with how young my body is. I didn't realize that anyone would notice…

"I-It was his birthday. I-I had to congratulate him, as his friend."

I clench my fists slightly at my stammer, taking a deep breath through my nose. Calm… _Take a deep breath, hold it and count to ten. Do this when you get mad and you'll do fine._

"As a friend. Right."

He says sarcastic, snickering at my obvious annoyance. I twitch slightly at his teasing, aiming my glare at him as I hit his arm. I hate how my cheeks just redden more...

"Yes, as a friend! He's Yohio's friend so he's my friend too. Besides, he's 7 years older than me, he doesn't like me that way!"

"But yooooou like him that way~?"

Yuuto laugh at my reddening face, making me stomp into the ground and tell him that I'll go home if he doesn't stop. This makes him drop the subject, thankfully, and we continue on our way towards our usual 'lizard catch' hole. I rub my forehead and take another deep breath, my chakra burning hot under my skin. I start to focus on the calm chakra surrounding us, how the nature just flows without a care in the world. Soon, I too start to mellow out and I send a light smile towards Yuuto. To change the subject, we start to talk about how he's doing in the academy so I can get over my embarrassment

But yes… I might have a slight crush on Sasori that's still hanging on from my past life only to blow up for real now when I can actually talk to him. My body may be young but my mind isn't, I know he's attractive… I've been born into what I'd call the 'Kakashi time period' where I think I'm equal to Kakashi's age. I'm uncertain, since I don't remember how old Sasori is, but I'm kinda sure I'm around Kakashi's age. That also means that I'll have to participate in the third world war… Not this one, the second war that's soon ending, but the next one. The main focus is on Iwa and Konoha, yes, but Suna also participated with it, seeing as it is a chance to take down Konoha that's the greater power between the nations. I think they pulled out from the war kinda soon after they joined so I hope I don't have to go out into battle… I think they established the alliance after the third war.

At first I thought it was bad that I was born into the Kakashi era since I wanted to follow along with Canon. But… well, after some thought I have realized that I can help change things so much more. One thing I do know, is that a black plant guy need to die. Then there's the whole Obito thing. If I can somehow stop Kiri from capturing Rin, Obito wouldn't go down the deep end… There's also Yagura, the one who got controlled by Obito a few years after Rin's death. Cause he got the three tails after Rin, I'm sure of it, and it's after he got the three tails that he becomes Mizukage.

And why I've been feeling so anxious… Well, it's the fourth ninja war. And Madara… And Kaguya… I want to be able to do something to help, That's why I'm so impatient with my power growth. _I refuse to show weakness._ I really need to get rid of that de-buff title though, it's like it's stripped me off my reset boost AND halved my progress rate. I haven't leveled up anything in what feels like forever. It's so… frustrating.

Me and Yuuto spend the whole day in the park, catching lizards together. Yuuto affect them with genjutsu as practice while I catch them. We don't keep every lizard we catch, but we do keep two for Yuuto's assignment he will do. Apparently he was supposed to catch lizards with someone from his class but he has two friends, meaning they're three in their group and not an even number for this assignment. Masago are treated well for being a good clan, but not many civilians or clan kids want to spend time with us just because of that… I'm glad Yuuto got such good friends and apparently one of them is Baki! It came as a surprise to me but I'm also relieved, Baki will live for a long time…

"Oh, Mio. Yuuto."

The two of us turn to see who called for us and I brighten up with a grin replacing the frown I wore from to the rude interruption. There is a 11 year old Sasori, holding a sealing scroll in his hand as he look at us in slight surprise. He always have a blank look on his face, but I can see it in his eyes, he's pleasantly surprised to see us. My detect emotion has leveled up just so I can learn to read him.

"What are you two doing here? Aren't you supposed to be home at this time?"

"Sasori!"

I can't help but shout out in glee, ignoring the slight blush on my face as I stand up and run over to hug him around his waist, like I usually do. I don't care if he's dirty from the earlier mission, it's always pleasant to see him and he deserves a hug every time we meet. At the very beginning he was uncertain of my hugs, but now he's warmed up to me a bit. He lightly pet my head, making me look up at the older boy with a wide grin and tighten my hold around his waist slightly. My chest is buzzing happily around him too, just like with my family but just not as intense. I'm glad that I can spend time with him, he's such a smart and cool guy. I haven't seen him since I got my memories… I'm glad I don't feel annoyed by him. _They're all so annoying, everyone judging and staring._

"Welcome home! How was your mission?"

"It went well."

He nod, ruffling my hair with a slight twitch of a smile aimed at me. I take the ruffle as my cue to let him go and I hear Yuuto approach from behind me.

"I'm on my way to the workshop."

"Wait, when did you become Chunin?"

Yuuto ask loudly, pointing at the beige vest Sasori is wearing over his ninja garb. That's when I notice it too, blinking in surprise and can't help the small flash of annoyance that he's so far ahead of me. He's older… _They tell me I'm not old enough, I'll show them…_ I knew he was already working in the puppet brigade and is making amazing puppet designs, but I didn't know that he has been promoted to Chunin so soon… Sasori huff in amusement at our surprise, nodding slightly and look down at his vest with a smile. I think it's a smile of pride...

"I got promoted recently. Next time the puppet brigade switch on the front lines, I'll join them. My puppets are needed at the front."

I allow my frown to appear on my face as he says this, which can be easily be taken as worry while I fiddle with my left thumb to distract myself. He'll be fighting on the front… He's so strong… I have to calm down… _I hate being left behind. I hate feeling weak._ The second war will soon be over… maybe it'll end soon enough so he doesn't enter the front lines. I-... I also gotta admit that I don't want anything to happen to him, now that he's staying in Suna… He was originally supposed to leave the village when he's 15, in the middle of the third shinobi war, but thanks to Yohio it looks like he intend to stay and not turn to making his human puppets. I want it to stay that way… So I can know when I've gotten stronger than him...

"You'll be careful, right..?"

I let my pride slide a bit to ask that question, frowning more as Yuuto and Sasori laugh at me. Well Yuuto laugh and Sasori aim an amused smirk at me that's his version of laughing. It's a given that he'll be careful, but I want to hear it from him…

"I promise I'll be careful little cherry."

He pat me lightly on the head to try and comfort me, making me flinch slightly at the contact and blush a brighter red. It's… Nice… His hand is warm… I don't know who he'll face on the battlefield so I can only hope he'll come back alive. I can only take his words for it...

"A-As long as you come back… Because if you don't I'll kick your ass."

Sasori's grey eyes are sparkling in amusement, slightly raising his eyebrow with his smirk still intact. This makes me quickly avert my gaze, silently cursing in my head at letting that stammer take a brief control over my voice.

"And how will you do that?"

I take hold of Yuuto's arm and pull him closer to my side, ignoring his amused snickers. And closing my eyes to speak in a 'as a matter of fact' tone with my back straight. To prove to him that I'm strong.

"I'll get Yuuto and Yohio to help! And I am stronger than I look, I can kick your ass if I wanna."

Now it's Yuuto's turn to lightly pat my head, a wide grin on his face as he says a sarcastic 'sure sure. Of course you can' to me. My eyebrow twitch at the motion and it starts another argument between the two of us, lighthearted of course since I know he means nothing special with that comment. He doesn't underestimate me...

From my point of view, Yuuto is the closest I have to a big brother… I spend a lot of time with Yohio too, but he's always taken a slight distance in a way, to keep us as cousins. It's only with Yuuto that I can freely argue with him about anything and everything now, tease him and know that at the end of the day the two of us will still get along. I know I can tell him anything that's on my mind and he won't judge me. He was the first one out of my cousins that hugged me after I revealed my fear to them… the first one to accept my change…

Sasori join our conversation for a little while longer before he depart towards the puppet brigade, waving goodbye to us and telling us to return home before the night patrols start. Once Sasori departed, the two of us do make our way back to the compound, bringing Yuuto's two lizards with us in Yuuto's inventory space. I have an inventory space too, but I can't access it until I'm an certain Level, which sucks… I have that scroll of helping me guide me through making my own jutsu too, but I can't access it because of that stupid rule.

"Soooo~. When are you gonna tell him you like him?"

I huff at Yuuto's teasing, frowning up at him as I cross my arms over my chest.

"Never. Because I don't like Sasori that way, I told you we're friends."

"Buuut you DID have a crush on him before you became a reset."

I can't help the blush spreading on my cheeks, punching Yuuto's arm at the wide teasing grin on his face. I really hate blushing, just how much I hate showing weakness. I'm not weak… I'm not just a girl who fawn over boys, I'm better than that. But ever since I unlocked my memories, I have been annoyed every time it has been brought up. _I punch him cause I won't show how much he affects me. Damn that cocky smirk._

"S-Shut up! We can't talk about that kind of stuff, Yuuto. Yes I did, but it isn't the same!"

"But then why are you blushing so much around him?"

Yuuto poke my forehead in return, making me flinch as he effectively hit my nerve there and cover the spot with a fiercer glare aimed at him. He's such an annoying tease… He better be grateful that I love him.

"I'm pale! I blush for almost everything, heat too. That does NOT mean I like him that way. So shut up, I don't care about boys!"

And I who hoped he'd drop that kind of conversation, alas it was not meant to be. I did run away from the group to congratulate Sasori one time, but that was months ago! Why is he teasing me about my puny crush now? Well, it doesn't stop him from teasing me about it on our way home, leaving me beet red in embarrassment and anger once we reach the compound gates. I step through first, slamming the gate back into his stomach with an annoyed huff and stomp towards my house. I need to plan stuff… I let out a mortified surprised squeak when Yuuto pick me up from behind, hugging me to his chest with a laugh.

"Naaaw I love you too Mio."

Immediately after hearing those words, it's like all anger bottled up inside of me disappear into the wind, leaving behind the usual happy buzz of chakra that I've gotten so used to. _I love you despite all the faults you see in yourself._ I go slack in his grip, reaching up to push away his face with a playfully annoyed huff. He knows I love him too, arguing over small things has become a bonding thing between us. It's nice… Really nice…

"Oh shut up, stupid. Now let me down."

He does so, ruffling my curly hair until it's a complete mess and laughing as I glare after him. I happen to like my hair neat, thank you very much! But with the loud happy buzz of my chakra it's hard to stay mad at him in any way.

"See you later Mio! Thanks for the help!"

I cross my arms, putting on an angry face until he enter his home across from mine. Once he's inside, I let a small fond smile stretch over my face, flattening out my hair as I'm walking towards my own door. He's such a brat… Sweet, kind little Yuuto can be just as bratty as any other brat. He's my cousin and I love him a lot, but if he wasn't my cousin I doubt I would've liked him in any way. Teasing and illogical point of views are the main reason why I hate kids, I doubt I'll get any friends once I enter the academy… Especially with this changed mindset… _Screaming children all around. Shut up shut up shut UP!_

I open the door to my home, taking a deep breath to push those past life thoughts to the back of my mind and call out that I'm home. I need to continue on my paper sticking technique tonight… My chakra control need to be better for when father comes home. He's going to show me the next step of chakra control and even if I know some chakra practicing techniques thanks to my knowledge can't seem to perform them in any way without his instructions. The knowledge is there but I can't form my chakra in the way I know it can. I should also sort through my memories some more through meditation. There are still a few gaps… But… I'm also scared of them, the memories. The very THOUGHT of being afraid of something that happened in my distant past makes me irritated at my own weakness. I'm me… Yet I'm not… And that's what's scaring me...

Once I told Taro about the future I've seen, he became grim and made me promise that I wouldn't do anything reckless. That I shouldn't interfere too much to change the whole outcome. I couldn't promise him that…. Because I refuse to run away when I know people's lives are on the line.

* * *

Now her memory is unlocked and her personality has changed with it. I hope you understand that the cursive text is memories from her past life that gets intertwined with her current life.

Please review and tell me your thoughts!

 **This chapter's question:** What is your favorite anime power? And if you had to chose one, what would it be?


	5. Four years old

Hello everyone! Here I come with another chapter for you.

It's time to enter Mio into the academy! Exciting exciting~. I hope you all like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I dooo not own Naruto. Only my OC's.

 _Writing in this text:_ means past life memories

* * *

 **Four years**

I look at myself in the mirror, a wide grin on my face as I'm brushing my curly, short dark red hair. I can see my freckles clearer now that I've gotten a tan from being out in the sun and I absolutely adore that I have freckles like mother does. I take my blue hair band from the dresser out of habit, thinking as I'm holding it in my hand. I don't really like hair bands that much, honestly, so I put it back down. I shouldn't give the impression I'm one of those 'pretty girls' either. I look over myself, turning to see my back that is proudly showing the Masago clan mark on my beige shirt. The clan mark is dark red in the shape of two tea leaves crossing over each other to show our merchant upbringing with a kunai stabbed through the two overlapping leaves to show our path as a ninja. Simple yet meaningful. I have dark brown pants on, very plain colours to let the mark on my back and my hair really pop. I look back into my eyes, the pink irises almost glowing in excitement over today.

Today. I'll finally enter the academy. Today is the day that I'll start on my path as a ninja, where I'll help change the world and be stronger. Where I'll use my knowledge to hopefully save people.

 **Ding! You got a quest!**

 **Arrive at school in time**

Arrive at the ninja academy before 8.00 for your registration.

Quest reward: +30 EXP, start your ninja classes

Quest failure: Have to wait with enrolling to next year.

[Yes] [No]

Of course I press yes! I'm enrolling in the academy today! I take one last look at myself before I exit my room, running down the stairs to reach the kitchen where Mother is already cooking breakfast for me. Father is sitting by the kitchen table, sipping on a cup of tea to start his day. He smiles at me when he sees me enter, placing his cup back on the table.

"Good morning Mio. I see that you're excited."

"Of course I'm excited! I'm going to be a ninja, dad!"

I grin wider, walking up to my father to hug and kiss him good morning like I usually do. I then do the same for mother before I grab a plate of toast and egg to eat for breakfast that mother has prepared for me. She laugh softly at my eagerness, glancing at me from over her shoulder as she's still cooking food. I'm guessing it's for a lunch box considering there's a half full lunch box right next to her with rice and a few veggies. It smells delicious, any food she make is delicious. It's going to be a full day today with some socializing activities so we all need lunch.

"You'll be a wonderful ninja, Mio. Just remember, it's important to make friends too, not only train all the time. I don't want you to be alone during your school days, okay?"

I let out an irritated huff with my mouth full of toast, swallowing before I answer mother with a slight frown.

"Fine, I'll at least _try_. Though I doubt anyone will catch my attention."

"I'll follow you to your first day and I'll pick you up once the day is over. I still have a few days left of free time so I can keep check on your friend progress."

Father says lightly, drinking up the rest of his tea.

I huff and glare slightly at father, quietly grumbling how I don't like gullible, cocky brats… He decides to either not react to it or he didn't listen, I think it's the first option because he's a high level ninja who seems to hear everything…

My parents has taken my change with a slight hiccup but otherwise smoothly. It… when I think back on how I treated others before I unlocked my memories, I was so stupidly open and naive. I wanted to make friends and saw everything in a positive light. I wanted to save everyone and help everyone I could. Now… Now almost everything has some way of annoying me. I can't reach something in the kitchen, I get annoyed. I fall down during training, I get annoyed. Something interrupts me during my meditation, I get annoyed. It's a never ending buzz of anger that appears in my everyday life. And I'm not sure just yet if I like the change- even if I can't change it. As I eat my toast, I open up my stats window, looking it over as I chew.

 **Name:** Mio Masago **Class** : Gen 4 gamer **Age:** 4

 **Titles** : **Young child:** all stats and EXP concerning physical properties will be halved until User reach age of 9.

 **Status:** Normal

 **Level:** 2 **EXP:** 160/200

 **HP:** 460 **HP Regen:** 18,5/minute

 **CP:** 1292,5 (-1.5% chakra use) **CP Regen:** 38,5/minute (14% meditate = 44/minute)

 **STR:** 21 (+2%) = 21,5

 **VIT:** 26 (+16%) = 31

 **PE:** 52,5

 **WIS:** 21 (+7,5) = 28,5 (+12.5%) = 32

 **INT:** 39 (+7,5) = 46,5 (+16.5%) = 54

 **SE:** 86

 **DEX:** 20 (+10)= 30 (+13%) = 34

 **AGI:** 25 (+18%) = 29,5

 **LUK:** 8

 **Fame/Infamy:** 0/0

 **Unspent points:** 34

 **Money:** 0

Even if I'm Level 2 and 4 years old, I must say I'm very impressed with my stats. I haven't been able to improve them that well since I got the debuff title a year ago, which is really irritating, but at least I'm above average… And at least I've gotten stat points through quests I've finished so it's a plus. I wonder what Level I need to be to access my inventory… And the shop, of course. Maybe I can access both once I enter the academy.

I grin at the thought, eating up the rest of my toast as I look towards father. It may be 7.30, very early to go to school since it's only 15 minute walk away from our compound, but I want a head start. Maybe scout out the competition and look around the school.

"Dad? Can we go to school now? Is there anything special I should bring with me?"

He smile gently at me, reaching over to place a hand on my head. My chakra starts to buzz loud and happy at the contact, making me feel so much lighter.

"As long as you go upstairs and pack your notebook and pen with you; and a water bottle. You remember how to use the storage seal I gave you?"

I nod and exclaim an excited 'yeah!' before I finish my egg toast, stand up and rush back towards my room to get that ready. Notebook and pen weren't hard to find since they were on my desk, same with the water bottle. But the scroll was a lot harder. I eventually find it under my bed, have no idea how it ended up there, and unroll the parchment. Inside is a row of 5 neat seals and I place my few items on top of two of them, adding some chakra into the seal and making my items disappear into the scroll.

I roll up the scroll and fasten it to my belt through the scroll pocket I have attached to it, specifically made for scroll carrying. I received it as a gift on my fourth birthday from my father. I soon run back downstairs, just in time to see mother tie a napkin neatly around my lunch box. I gratefully take the lunch box as its handed to me, hugging mother tightly in thanks. After I pull away, I'm already running towards the door with the lunchbox in hand, not waiting on father before I put on my shoes.

"Come on, dad! Let's go!"

I can hear him chuckle behind me and share a kiss with mother before he joins me in the hall to put on his own shoes. When I finish strapping on my sandals, I stand up straight, shifting on my feet with the buzz in my chest only growing with my excitement. As soon as father has put on his sandals, I drag him out from the house with a hasty goodbye aimed to my mother.

Now I'll have an honest chance in catching up to everyone, finally! I have no idea what anyone's stats are, Observe doesn't show me that, but I'll make sure that from now on I'll work to become stronger than Yuuto. I might not be able to match Yohio yet because of our age gap, but as soon as I've surpassed Yuuto he will be my next target.

And it's amazing that I'm inside one of my favorite anime I watched in my previous life... I'll be able to walk up walls, perform jutsus, jump far and get so much stronger than I ever would have imagined to be possible in my previous life. I think it's the child inside of me talking when I say I'm super excited to become a ninja, but I don't care at the moment. The buzz in my chest is just begging to have my face glow in anticipation. I know what a ninja does during their work, but that's so far back in my mind right now. Because I'm about to grow stronger!

Once we arrive at the academy, it's kupol shape being surrounded by open training fields and the whole area is surrounded by a sand fence, there's arely anyone here yet. Well, that's not surprising since it's still around 15 minutes until the academy meeting actually start.

 **Ding! You completed a quest!**

 **Arrive at school in time**

Arrive at the ninja academy before 8.00 for your registration.

Quest reward: +30 EXP, start your ninja classes

Awesome! One quest more and I'll level up. I explore the outside of the school with my father trailing behind me, taking note of the different training grounds there. The first training ground I see is the obstacle course with a larger running track than we have at our compound, the obstacle course being placed in the middle of the running track to save space. After that there's the throwing weapon practice area, where there are 3 different wooden poles lodged into the ground in a slope behind the academy to ensure no one gets hurt during practice. It's a smart choice with placing it there.

I find a few sparring grounds as well before I wind up back at the entrance to the academy. More kids have arrived, but not that many as of yet. I look up at father with a slight grin, feeling a lot more comfortable to have him next to me. It's still 5 minutes left until school starts and I don't see any point in approaching any of the brats who have arrived. I don't recognise any of them so they're all just background characters anyway. I settle with using 'observe' on them all, finding out if they come from a civilian or ninja origin and who could possibly be some kind of challenge. I'm not able to see their stats, only some information on them and basic level. So much for having a video game power if I can't see their HP or CP...

Once the clock strikes 8, a lot more children have arrived with their parents, some happily talking to one another as they know each other from before. I stick close to my father, continuing to use Observe on them all to get a better feel for the children around me as well as their age. There's only me and two other kids who are 4 years old, the shinobi war forcing the clan kids Suna has to enter the academy early. The majority of the children are 5 years old and only a few are 6 years old, those who are older are civilians.

I can see a few children who have a 'clan child' title while the others have 'ninja parents' as a title. Those few 6 year olds have simply 'civilian' as a title, indicating that they're the first one in their family to pick up a kunai. Most likely because their parents are low on money due to the war… Ninja work right now is the most profitable work, but I'm sure that soon after the war has ended our 'U' Masago distant cousins will kick up the market again like it's said they've done in the past. Since I also observed the parents, I can see that quite a few of them are ninja. Some are apparently babysitters while others are civilians. Maybe it's, again, because of the war that there aren't many ninja here.

I twitch when a chakra signature suddenly appear in my range, looking towards the academy entrance to see a Chunin ninja stand there with a bored expression on his face. I observe him, only able to see a few things about him as I do with anyone else.

 **Name:** Karasu Azahara **Class:** Ninja parent child **Age:** 21

 **Status:** Damaged chakra coils debuff: -50% Chakra efficiency, 73 days left of recovery

 **Title:** Chunin: Able to access higher ranking missions and 20% reputation boost with Sunagakure ninja.

 **Level:** 33

 **Info:** Has participated in the second ninja war and got damaged chakra coils from a powerful lightning jutsu from a Kumo ninja he encountered. Has since then been incapable of participating in the war effort and has been assigned to take care of the academy.

I can't help but feel a bit of pity for him… To get so damaged during the war, not able to use your chakra properly _and_ to get stuck with brats on top of it? I know I'd be grumpy about it too… I can feel father gently squeeze my hand, making me look up at him curiously. _They never looked back towards me when they left._ He has an comforting look in his gentle green eyes, nodding slightly to me. I guess it's his way of telling me that I'll do amazing as a ninja; which I, of course, will. Or that my teacher will be good even with the debuff. I look back to Karasu when he starts to speak, making the other children around me notice him too.

"Alright brats, listen up! I'm gonna be your teacher. Cause there were a lot of you this time, you're going to be split up in two classes. I doubt all of you will make it so next year there's going to be one joined class."

He lift up a clipboard closer to his face, one I didn't even notice he was holding, and continue to speak in his monotone, bored voice. I can hear worried mumbles of the children around me when he says not everyone will last the first year. This only makes me straighten my back with a frown, determined to succeed.

"So one group is going to have me as their teacher and the other group will have Eri Fujihara who's in a classroom already. When I call out your name, come over to stand on the left side of me. Gamma Fuuza."

As he call out names one by one, the kids step forward and walk over to the left side of him. He soon does the same for his right side, which is where I end up. I nod to my father with a small smile, excited for my first day as he smile back at me. I'm going to be the top ninja in my year, I'll make sure of it. Anything less and I'd be frustrated with myself. My group apparently have Karasu as our teacher, the other group being assigned to Eri. Eri's group follow Karasu first, soon splitting from us to enter a classroom where their teacher is waiting.

Our group arrive at another classroom further down the hall and the first thought I have when I enter is… bland. _Fancy halls, fancy rooms, it's too fucking bright in this damn place._ It's pretty bland, somewhat similar to the leaf academy's classroom but with sand walls and stone benches instead of wood. The tables are made of wood though, which is a nice surprise. At least the stone benches have pillows fastened to them for seats so we don't have to sit on the hard surface. I sit down in the back of the class, making sure I have view over everyone. No one sits beside me but that's something I prefer, I would rather not waste any time getting to know stuck up brats... I place my lunch box on the table in front of me as Karasu start his very first lecture with us.

"Welcome everyone to your first day at the academy. I'm Karasu Azahara, call me Karasu-sensei, Chunin and I'd rather be anywhere than teach you all. But I don't really have a choice in the matter so we just have to get used to each other ey?"

He then proceed to pick up a chalk pen, writing on the chalkboard with furigana, small hiragana, over the kanji to those who don't know what it says. It's a schedule…

"On mondays you'll have history as your first class. Math as second. After lunch there's ninja physical training. Tuesdays its ninja tactics, after lunch its a divided class between boys and girls. Wednesdays is biology first, Japanese second. After lunch it's ninja training again. Thursday is Math and social studies and after lunch it's ninja tactics. Friday is geography and creative teaching and after lunch it's divided classes between boys and girls again."

Once he's written it all up, he turn to us, the same bored slouch in his posture as before while he look over everyone.

"Any questions?"

I look around at my classmates with a slight frown as a sort of test to see if anyone would ask the question I have in mind… Of course none of them raise their hand, so I do while looking at Karasu. He point to me and I stand up to ask my question.

"Karasu-sensei, what are we doing during the ninja tactics classes? Is it chakra control too?"

He sigh at my question, shrugging slightly.

"Yes, it does include chakra control. But it'll mostly be tactics during battle, sign language, hand seals etcetera. I'm not in charge in that class so I don't know what you'll do for your first year but that's the basics of it. Anything else?"

I shake my head and sit back down, content to listen for now. From what I can see on the schedule I've gone over the basics of everything except history, geography, the divided classes and creative teaching. My cousins said that you only have creative teaching during your first year and it's the most fun class you can have, according to them. They give you assignments to draw and play with a hidden meaning behind every task during the course of the lesson, to have us adapt to the ninja way of thinking. And from what Setsuko told me kunoichi classes are introduction to seduction missions, acting and how a girl can perform to get her way in a conversation. I can see use in all of these classes and I'm curious to know more about the biology of this world. It's so vastly different from how I remember mine… I might actually enjoy what I learn here, but we'll see how long that lasts.

After a brief introduction to rules, a more in debt explanation of our classes and warnings of what would happen if you do break the rules we are all taken outside to one of the many open training grounds around the academy. I've sealed my lunch box in my scroll to not lose it as I'm standing in front of the class facing Karasu with my back straight. Right, I remember they said there was a first evaluation training the first day, I had almost forgotten about that. A small smirk spread over my face without me really meaning to. Now I can see how strong I am compared to normal kids… I will be the best, I won't be pushed around.

"Ok brats. You'll all be sparring, stepping two and two into this cirkle behind me. You're supposed to defeat your opponent either by having them step out of the ring, forfeit or unable to fight anymore. Anything goes as long as you don't kill each other or break any bones."

A quiet murmur of nervous voices spread through our group and my eyes harden in anticipation. So that's why Father had me spar with Yuuto a few days back… A spar I obviously lost, much to my frustration, but now I see how that match will be useful. Karasu hold up his hand to effectively silence everyone before he reach back into his hip pouch with his second hand.

"We'll treat this as a tournament to see who comes out on top. The winner of the first match will face off against another winner. And the winner of the whole tournament gets this."

He takes out a bag of candy, namely sugar crystals. I look at the candy with wide eyes, already feeling my mouth starting to water since I absolutely adore sweets. I have my self control to not eat my candy all at once but I never go a day without some kind of sugar in my system. I want them…. No one else can have them…

"The winner of winners will get the bag of candy. Eri is doing the same thing with her class since it's our way to see who's best and who won't last long in the ninja world. So do your best. The first contestants are Hiro Daia and Takamaru Hama."

The two boys step into the ring behind Karasu, both nervous and determined. I don't pay a lot of attention to their fight, instead looking around me to see who could be any potential threat to my spot in first place. Most of them are Level 1, only a few Level two like I am. Those are clan kids, having more prior training than the civilians. I want that price….

 **Ding! You have a quest!**

I blink as the ding ring through the air, making me focus ahead of me to read what quest I just got. My eyes widen as I read it, gaping slightly. No way… That's-...

 **Get to the top!**

Defeat all the kids in your class and get to the very top of the tournament.

Quest reward: +20 EXP for every opponent you defeat.

Extra reward: +30 EXP once you defeat your last opponent, receive 10 fame, recieve bag of sugar crystals, receive title 'Prodigy child' to equip.

Quest failure: Scorned even more by other clan kids.

[Yes][No]

20 EXP for every opponent I defeat!? And an extra 30!? I look around me, quickly counting in my head how many kids there are as the next pair is called up to a spar. There's a total of 20 kids here, so doing a quick math in my head I conclude I'll get a total of 90 EXP if I win it all since I'd be fighting at least 4 opponents. That's insane! And a prodigy title? Yes please! With a large grin on my face, I accept the quest, fists clenching in anticipation. I'll win this tournament if it's the last thing I do..!

"Ugh, we got a Masago… They're so weird with their air poking…"

I hear from the back, making the grin slip from my face as I listen in on them. That's right… Clan kids scorn one another from the beginning, gauging who is the strongest. In my previous life I'd call it bullying, here it's to display dominance… Well, I'm not about to be broken down in any way. _Scornful looks wherever I go, no real amusement for me in this place. It's all too bright._

"Yeah, and those eyes were freaky… Did you notice how they glow? Freakshow…"

I grit my teeth at the insult, forcing myself to not look back and start a fight over it. If I do it'd show them I care… I hope I'll be up against those damn brats… Because I'm going to win this…

"The winner is Saza Kunie! Next up is Mio Masago and Kurisu Sakyou."

I step forward, my back turned to my classmates to display my clan symbol as my eyes are narrowed in a determined glare. Another clan kid, of course… Well, they're specialised in medical area, not combat like my clan is. I'll win without a problem... After I've stepped into the ring, I turn to face my opponent with my determined glare still in place. Seeing that the girl in front of me look very nervous I conclude that she's thinking the same thing as I am. I'm going to win.

"Get ready…"

I shift into my fighting stance, legs spread out with one in front of me, one behind me. One arm lowered in front of my stomach while my other is placed in a 90 degree angle with my fist in front of my head. Father said that this is only the start of the basic stance, saying how eventually I'll develop my fighting and shift my stance to what I know will be most effective. But right now, I stick to the basics. The Kurisu girl shift into her own fighting stance, less sure of herself as her black hair is already clinging to her forehead due to sweat gathering there. Pathetic, scared even as a kid and she think she'll make a good ninja. But just for the sake of playing nice, I'll make it quick...

"Begin!"

The moment he says that, I move on the offence, enhancing my speed with chakra to run towards her. I aim a well practiced kick on her stomach, specifically aiming for her diafragma before she even get the chance to block my kick with those pathetically weak arms of hers. Thanks to chakra enhancing my speed and power it's a one hit knock out, the poor girl falling to the ground and coughing as she tries to get air back into her lungs and unable to continue.

The stunned silence stretch on for a few seconds before Karasu declare my victory. Murmurs of amazement soon breaking out among the children and I can feel the brats look at me. I relax my stance and stare down at Kurisu for a few seconds, watching as the girl is still struggling to get air into her lungs. I let out a small huff at her lack of strength, helping her up and pushing her out of the ring while keeping her in an upright position.

"Come on, I didn't hit you that hard. Bending over won't make getting your breath back any easier."

She look at me nervously, still panting heavily and holding onto my hand tightly. Seeing as the next match will start soon, I huff once more and lead her away towards a bench not too far away.

"Don't be in the way for others, Sakyou. Do something about that bad stance of yours, I'd have knocked you over even if you had blocked."

I then let her sit down on the bench, eyes hard as I stare down at her panting form. Weak… I'd never want to be that weak. Out of commission before she even get the chance to fight back, she'll never be a ninja that focuses on combat. She'll be on the sidelines or be in the way wherever she goes if she's this bad now. They say people can change, but she doesn't seem to have any drive. The character screen said so in her info, that she's in the academy because of her clan; not for herself. That motivation will get her nowhere… Kurisu shift nervously under my hard gaze, looking away in submission. Good.

"You're… fast…."

I grin widely at her, shrugging slightly as I tilt my head to the side. It's the point of pumping chakra through your body, to increase every aspect of it. In your legs, you increase speed, arms strength, you have all sorts of uses with it. I just wish I could experiment with it more and not be limited to what I'm taught…

"Chakra. Useful for offence. I'm only gonna say this once, so listen up. Get some kind of motivation to drive you. Those scared eyes of yours will lead you nowhere. But if you stand in my way to the top… I won't hesitate to beat you down again."

I then turn around and walk back towards the group, ignoring her wide eyed look. I won't be friendly with anyone, but the way she froze up was kinda satisfying in a way. And, well, the least I can do is give her a few pointers. _That idiot will get nowhere without me, those wide smiles can't fool me how much he hates himself every time he fails._ I have the upper hand. And it's up to her if she want to have some sort of drive. If she doesn't, she won't be a ninja. But if she does get some motivation, then she might, only might, be able to succeed.

I stand at the edge of the group of kids as I wait for my next match, dismissing the two windows that pop up in front of me. One for showing I got 20 EXP and one for showing I leveled up, I'm already Level 3. I'm starting to catch up and it's only the first day of school. I can feel Kurisu stare a hole into my temple, but I ignore it. Instead, I cross my arms, eyes narrowed as I observe how the others fight. Seeing what type of style they use and how I can take advantage of it. Brawler… Strategist… There are a lot of different kinds of fighting styles in my class. And eventually, I need to figure out which fighting style works best for me. I'll learn the academy taijutsu and master our basic clan one. From there I can delve into other kind of fighting styles. Maybe I can look through my memory and see if there are any other ninja fighting styles that might suit me… It'll be something I need to think of during these next few years.

Soon I'm called out once more for my second match. The kids are sitting down around the fighting ring, bruised from their own matches and I can't help the soft snort from escaping me at how pathetic they seem. So far it's only me and three others who don't have a scratch on them… As I face my opponent, I grin at him, shifting into my fighting stance. It's another clan kid and I'm starting to see a pattern. I won't go for a one hit knockout, but my aim is to be quick and 'deadly' with my strikes.

I defeat all my opponents, as I was aiming to do, and came out on top with only a few bruises. My VIT finally gained a stat point when the last two matches were a little harder to finish and they managed to counter and get a few punches into my defences. But I always ended my matches in the same way with either a chakra infused kick or punch to render them unable to continue fighting. In the end, I stand proudly in front of my teacher, eyes sparkling in pride as I get the bag of sugar crystals from him. Once that is done, Karasu lead all of us back to our classroom with all the children following at different paces. I follow somewhere in the back of my class as another status window pop up in front of me.

 **Ding! You completed a mission!**

 **Get to the top!**

Defeat all the kids in your class and get to the very top of the tournament.

Quest reward: +20 EXP for every opponent you defeat. Total 60 EXP

Extra reward: +30 EXP once you defeat your last opponent, receive 10 fame, recieve bag of sugar crystals, receive title 'Prodigy child' to equip.

 **Due to certain criteria being reached you can now access your inventory!**

 **Due to certain criteria being reached you can now access the shop!**

 **Due to gaining a secondary title you can now equip titles!**

I love my gamer ability. And now I can finally read that scroll I got forever ago! But first I access my character menu, still following the group of children as I fiddle with my menu. I notice a few kids looking at me weirdly but I ignore them and instead press on the 'character' tab to look at the Prodigy child title I just got. I grin widely as I read what it says, feeling giddy like a child on christmas.

 **Prodigy child:**

Removes any physical or mental limitations the user has for leveling up any skill or increasing stats. Gains +1 SSP (special skill point) for every cleared quest regarding showing off your abilities.

I'm quick to equip it as my main title, sitting down in the middle row of the classroom since the back was mostly occupied when I entered. I'm quick to close down my window when Karasu start to speak, popping a sugar crystal in my mouth as I listen. I'll have to look over everything else later, but that title was the best thing that could've happened to me! I was so frustrated with my lack of progress but now all those limitations are gone! I don't know what those Special Skill Points are but I'll find that out later. I also have to check out the shop and then look over my inventory once I get home. I have so much to do! I wonder how I can get money to buy things in the main menu store, I'll have to ask father how he did it. The future's looking bright now! I'm so excited! _I beam proudly at my score on the test, glancing at that cocky chick with a mocking grin. Now she knows I'm better._

* * *

After a second briefing of rules, lunch, some name and bonding games with everyone in my class the school is officially ended. As my father promised, he picked me up afterwards and I'm more than happy to dart over to his side and get away from everyone in my class. Most in my class hate me from coming out on top of the tournament challenge. The ones who got angry, I told them to buzz off and train harder so I didn't exactly try to be humble about it. Kurisu, the clan girl I won my first round against, actually sat next to me during lunch. She was quiet and submissive so I allowed it with a slight hint of surprise, there is always a silent war of strength between the clans in Sunagakure so sitting next to me after losing a match it's a clear sign that she is putting me above her in ranking. Just like it should be since I will be the best in the class.

When I told father about Kurisu on our way home, he was also surprised that she did that, especially on the first day. I have no idea why she'd chosen me out of everyone in our class but I guess something I said to her affected her in some way. Next week, I doubt she'll interact with me ever again. There's still the silent domination war going on between the 10 clan kids we have in our class, including me. Our Masago family have always been aware of it, but we aren't actively participating in it. I don't see any reason why I should actively participate in it either, I'll just show them all who is the strongest and the best if they choose to challenge me.

When I told him of my achievement with getting my title, access to the shop and inventory I could see how he was glowing with pride as he praised me. My chakra is always buzzing loudly when I'm around my family, but it buzzes even louder and more pleasant when I get praise from them. It's an amazing feeling, to be so appreciated. And to be loved so dearly, it's wonderful. _Fake smiles, those people don't care about us. I'll protect them..._

"But dad, how do I get money to buy stuff at the shop? I don't have any money when I'm in the academy."

I tell him after we've entered the compound, frowning slightly in thought. There's something that's nagging at the back of my mind… Something that has to do with my powers. Do I recognise them from my previous life…?

"Hmm… Well…"

Father start off awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"I got my money from missions and gambling. If you have high enough skill points in your luck, you can win a lot of money through gambling. But there's really no efficient way to gather money to buy things from our shop… Sometimes we get 'drop items' when we defeat enemies during a mission which is mostly money that's added to our inventory but there's no efficient way of doing it."

I hum softly and nod, frowning as I look ahead with that nagging feeling still in the back of my mind. What is it…? Its so annoying, I just can't grasp what it is.

"I need to meditate some… It sounds familiar."

"Well, maybe if you slept more, it'd be easier for you to remember…"

He says gently, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shiver as I remember the few times I've slept since the day I unlocked my memories. I never remember what I dream of in detail, I only know that I wake up screaming because of those eyes….. So I shake my head firmly and look up at father, frowning in determination to distract me from my inner fear. It's… irritating… those flashes...

"No… No I can handle my memories just fine without sleeping. I don't want to see it over and over… I don't need sleep..."

He smile sadly at me, nodding and opening the door to our home. I've talked about my lack of sleep with almost everyone in my family, but no one really seems to understand it like Yohio does. Besides, I'm not tired despite my lack of sleep, it's just a luxury for us who have the gamer power...

Once the two of us have stepped inside we are greeted by mom standing in the hallway, smiling gently as her eyes land on me.

"Had a good first day?"

I nod and smile back, hastily removing my shoes to hug her around her waist. I want to hide my face for a little while. Until I'm in control of my thoughts again… Damn those images… _It was peaceful and calm as we hung out. Calm before the storm..._

"It was ok, I beat everyone in class in the tournament. I'm the prodigy."

Mother giggle softly as she run her hand through my hair, making me relax under her soothing touch. I didn't even notice that I had tensed up from the mention of my death… Now everything feels a lot better. A lot more safe…

"That's our Mio-chan~. Always so hard working. Go and wash up a bit, your hair is full of sand."

I snort softly at the mention of sand, looking up at mother with a wide, teasing grin.

"You can never get away from the sand. Sand is home!"

After a few more encouraging words from mother and father I make my way towards the bathroom. As I remove my clothes, I can see that they've gotten dirty from the sparring sessions we had but it'll be fine after a wash. I put the clothes into the laundry basket and start cleaning my body while I wait for the water to heat up in the tub through special seals on the bottom of it. I let a heavy sigh escape my lips, looking at myself in the full body mirror while I clean myself. I'm… so small. So annoyingly fragile...I can clearly remember what I looked like in my past life and I can almost see that body next to me like a ghost. the two versions of myself sitting side by side yet not…

I had long pale blond hair tied up in a side ponytail, always to get my hair out from my face. I never went outside without a cap shielding my eyes, preferably a black or grey one. I had deep blue eyes with a bit of green in them, something my previous mother always said came from my grandmother. My face was round and I had high cheekbones that always made wearing sunglasses uncomfortable because they'd be pushed up when I smiled. But now… Now I don't have those features. Now I'm a completely different person, different body…

The image that's staring back at me is that of a young girl, showing no sign of any bodily change. Bright neon pink eyes that's shining and honestly intimidating if I narrow my eyes enough. My skin is tan from the sun and small freckles dusting my cheeks that I've inherited from my mother. I gently run a hand through my dark red hair, it reaching down to the nip of my neck in soft curls. I still have baby fat on my face but I'm certain that I'll have a sharp jaw like my father has. I'm different… My personality is different too because of the old cheerful Mio blend in with my annoyed and paranoid past self. And with three years of growing up with my family has made me think similar to how they do. I tried to block out the worst parts of my past self, but its still bleeding through. I just wish that I never find a reason to lash out at my family… I don't want to do that...

I stand up and lower my body into the hot tub once I'm properly cleaned, letting out a soft sigh as I close my eyes and relax. We have to save up on water as much as possible so we rarely replace the tub water, that's also why it's so important to wash your body before you step in. I look down at the seal on the bottom of the tub, shifting into a meditative stance and start to breathe slowly. In and out… Settling into a meditative trance I allow my thoughts to drift off with a simple goal, my memories. While I'm excited to explore the shop option and read the scroll I have in my inventory, that can wait for a while longer. The thing about money is nagging at me…

I reach in with my chakra. Reaching far into myself to call the memories forth. I don't flinch when I get flashes of my death like I did my first time trying this, but I continue to reach further. To look for my hobbies… There has to be something about it there. I see myself reading online on the computer, manga is what we called it in my world, one of those which I'm living in right now. Naruto…. I continue to sort through them. Bleach… Blue exorcist… Skip beat… Ranma… Fairy tail… One piece… I was really a nerd back then. I continue to search, hoping that I'll stumble upon something that will help that nagging feeling in the back of my mind. Angel beats… Boku no hero academia…. One punch man… The ga- That's it!

I tense up slightly as I zero in on that one comic. A korean one. I found it through reading fanfictions. The Gamer… The Gamer, yes, it's so familiar to the powers we have. A gamer power where everything is a game. He didn't have any save files but his powers worked out the same way. He became rich… But how…? I frown as I desperately grasp for this information, struggling… fighting against some sort of… blockage. It's like reaching for smoke, I can feel it there but I can't grasp it. Finally I see it. I finally find it and the information flow through me like a tidal wave washing over my head. I'm left gaping, mouth opening and closing as I'm suddenly overcome with the amount of _detail_ I have about this power. ID create… ID escape… Dungeons… That's how he got so much money.

 **Ding! Congratulations!**

 **Through a certain focus on memory search you're able to mimic 'The Gamer's ability called ID create and ID escape! Now all that's left is to create it from your chakra!**

Oh… So that's how I create my own Jutsus…

I'm left wheezing, grasping onto my head with light trembles running through me. It's so-... So overwhelming. Similar to when I unlocked my memories with the help of Taro but on a smaller scale. But holy shit, this… this is so useful. If I can make my own empty world, I can practice on creating devastating jutsus without hurting anyone. I could fight monsters, gain EXP and get money…! And then I can let my family use it too, I'm sure everyone has some kind of jutsu they want try. And with an empty dimension to practice it in, they could level it up and be more effective for when they want to use it. We could spar together without risking the fate of other civilians or landscape. This… This ability is so amazing!

I lean back against the tub, a wide grin spreading on my face as I continue to think about the possibilities. If I take the korean comic into account, the barrier would be created from the 'earth god' or in this case nature chakra. An unbreakable world that can only be broken on my command. I could do so many things with this… I could trap a great threat in this space and not worry about anyone else getting involved or hurt by anything that transpires from the dimension. Han Jee Han could willingly walk into a instant dungeon but that's because he could control the powers of 'mother earth'. So then… there might be some limitations if I can't trap someone who uses nature chakra but wow this creates so many opportunities! I have to tell everyone!

I'm quick to burst out from the tub, deactivating the heating seals and dry off my body with a towel. I have barely put on my robe before I'm already running down the hall, bursting into the kitchen with a wide, excited grin on my face. Mother and father break off their conversation to look up at me in alarm, both tense.

"Mom! Dad! I can make a super useful jutsu!"

I don't let them say anything, hastily tying my bathrobe shut as I walk further into the room.

"With it we can all level up! We can get our own weapons, money and-! And we can explore making huge jutsus! I can make an alternative dimension! I can create a whole new pocket dimension only people I choose can enter! We can do so much if I can create this! That's how Han Jee Han got money so easily! Monsters drop money!"

I walk up to excitedly shake father's arm, completely ignoring his bewildered look he's aiming at me. My chakra is buzzing so wildly in excitement, making me unable to lose my wide grin.

"We can all get enough to buy stuff from the shop! We can get so much stronger! _I_ can get so much stronger! I gotta practice right away, I gotta make this jutsu!"

And just like that I'm running up the stairs towards my room, calling down to the two of them on my way up the stairs.

"I'll be in the compound practice area! Tell me when food is ready!"

I'm still giddy as I change clothes, not caring what I put on since I won't do any physical training right now. Once I'm done, I rush downstairs and shout out a last 'bye' before I'm out the door and running to the middle of the compound where the nature chakra is most dense in our compound. It's because my cousins use so many jutsus around here I think. Giddy and ignoring the curious glances Setsuko and Sho aim my way from where the two of them are sparring against each other, I sit down on the ground with my legs crossed and close my eyes. I spread out my chakra sense and giggle loudly as I feel the nature chakra around me, running the information about ID create and ID escape through my head once more. This will be so awesome! I don't think I'll get it on my first try, oh no, but once I get it done it'll be such a great opportunity for me to grow even stronger! I have to create this Jutsu, I just have to! Focus… Focus… Breathe…

I take a deep breath, sensing the nature chakra around me. Then… I reach out.

* * *

Now she's starting to unlock her SSP abilities, those abilities that she can get from manga and anime she's watched/read in her previous life.

 **Question! Is there a special power that you'd like to see her being able to equip? Can't guarantee she'd equip it but please tell me!**

Next chapter will be a bit more in debt about her school life before it continues onto her 5th year in life. I'm looking forward to sharing more of my story!

 **This chapter's question:** If you got poisoned that _wouldn't_ result in your death, which would be the WORST symptoms that you can imagine getting?

 **Review replies:**

 **aspire5515:** Thank you! I'll try and keep away from any clichés. Other than the character becoming powerful over time, I hope I'll avoid the major ones. It's not like Mio will get a sudden powerup and never be bested in battle, she'll have plenty of defeats.

 **The-Funeral-Pyre:** Sorry about the grammar, I'm doing my best! English isn't my first language after all so sorry if I accidentally annoy you with grammar mistakes in the future...

I never actually thought about it in that way, you're right Kumo would have been a great choice for a clan like Mio's. And you're also right about the Uchiha and Hyuuga, those two clans kinda got too much pride. XD But yeh, Tobirama would be really suspicious of the clan and they wouldn't be allowed to join Konoha in the first place if they even tried. Thank you for answering the question! I never thought of it in that way. X3


	6. Academy days

Hello! Another chapter for yooou.

Something that SnowCatt brought to my attention, thank you snowcatt, is that her change in personality was a bit hard to understand. I tried to convey it through brief flash backs of her past life, how her thought process was before becoming Mio and how it's affecting her in the present. So I'll explain it in detail at the bottom of the story after answering reviews for anyone who want to know. I haven't made her this way just 'because' but there's a reason why she changed so drastically. And since it's something that no one will explain to Mio in the story it won't be explained.

So I'll explain Mio's personality after the story.

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Writing in this_ _text_ : means flashback of previous life.

Academy days

"What do you use SSP for, Yohio?"

I ask my cousin as I watch him train, angry and irritated after another failed attempt to use ID create. It was supposed to be easy! He pause in his Katas, looking at me curiously and blinking.

"SSP…? You got those already? How?"

I huff and frown at him, standing up to brush some dirt off my pants.

"Yeah? I have about 4 or 5 points if I counted them right. I got the prodigy title on my first day. So? I haven't found anywhere where I can use them myself so you gotta know what they do."

I cross my arms over my chest, glaring at him to answer my question. I've been in the academy for about 2 months now, during which Yohio was gone on a mission. The war has ended, as I suspected it would, and everyone are sent out to fix damage I guess. I have no idea what he did during his mission, he never tells me, but I haven't been able to ask him for advice until now. I thought about asking Taro, but I wanted to ask Yohio this…

He blink a few times, scratching the back of his head as he think about what to say. His purple eyes are almost glowing similar to mine and his hair is held away from his eyes by the Suna headband wrapped around his head. Similar to Sasori, Yohio also made it to Chunin before the war ended…

"Well, uhm… SSP are special skill points that you use for techniques you unlock with your memories. For example, if you have a memory of someone performing a jutsu and that jutsu is explained in detail during the show, you can use it too. But only after you use your SSP to unlock it."

I blink when he says that, eyes widening as I listen. No way…

"For example, if I get a notification that I can unlock Tora's super strength from a show I watched in my past life, I have to spend my SSP points in that ability before I can actually use it. I won't be able to use that super strength unless I invest SSP in it even if I know in detail how it works."

I can feel my cheeks heating up in embarrassment and anger when I realize why I haven't been able to make a replica of ID create. I need the SSP to use it…? What the hell!? Why didn't the system explain it immediately!? I could've practiced on the skill for two months!

"What!? But then-! Why didn't it say that immediately!? Where can I unlock it!?"

Yohio snort softly in amusement, smirking at me while tilting his head slightly. He's clearly amused, the slight twitching of his eye showing that he's trying to not laugh at me. This only makes me flush a brighter red and I can feel the angry heat in my chest grow warmer. What's with that cocky look!? Is he mocking me…? He's mocking me! How fucking dare he mock me just because I didn't know something immediately!? I clench my hands into fists, limbs trembling in strain as I hold back from launching at him. He's family, he's my cousin… But that mocking look is infuriating! _Judging eyes, sneers, glares and ugly words. Go away, you're all just annoying and useless._

"The Special skill window will appear as a split in your normal skill window. That's where everything you've remembered end up. You get one SSP for every time you level up after you've unlocked your first skill, through quests or when you have a title that give you SSP after you've done something special. So _that's_ what you've been doing sitting there? No wonder you were so hissy."

I seethe at him, taking a step closer and raise my fists as a threatening gesture. This just makes him more amused which, in turn, infuriates me even more. He shouldn't look down on me just because he's older...!

"Shut up! If you don't I'll show _you_ hissy! I'll punch that smirk right out of your face!"

"Ooooh I'm so scared~."

He says with a laugh, walking over to me so he can pet my hair which is a very effective way to calm me down. Still glaring at my cousin, my body start to relax as the angry buzz of my chakra dim to a soft hum instead. Damn everyone in my family who can calm me so easily… … Or ok, not really, I love them all after all. It's nice that I have a harder time getting really angry with them.

"But I'm glad you look up to me. The two of us will become great clan leaders~."

I move away from under his hand, huffing as I look away, crossing my arms. A sudden feeling of guilt envelop me when he say that _we_ will lead the clan. I… I'm not sure if I can handle that kind of responsibility. Not with how difficult I was as a person in my past life.

"You're gonna be clan leader, not me. I-... I'm not suited to be a leader over anyone. Not like you are..."

This makes Yohio pause slightly, something I noticed out of the corner of my eye, as if he didn't expect me to say something like that. That brief moment of surprise pass as he gently settle his hands on both my shoulders, making me glance at Yohio to meet his gaze. He looks calm and reassuring, not betraying any emotions he feels deep down. He's really good at that kind of thing…

"What makes you say that…? If you continue to work this hard you'll be so much stronger than anyone in our clan. Stronger than I'll ever be… Everyone knows it's the strongest who lead, as with the Kazekage. You have a lot to give the clan, Mio..."

I shift slightly, looking down at my feet with a deep frown on my face as the guilt only grows. He shouldn't say such nice things about me; I don't deserve it. I fiddle with my thumb like I usually do to try and distract myself, gaze still trained on my feet as I speak up. That's the first time he's said that to me. I thought he didn't like me with how strained his smiles has become when I tell him of what I've achieved. I guess I was wrong…

"I-... I'm brash, straight forward, short fused temper and hate everyone I meet. I try to be like I was before. Kind, caring and positive… But it's so _hard_. I-... If I did somehow become clan head, I'd be scared that I'd make the wrong decisions. Because of my rash behavior towards others; it would cause more damage than good… Maybe it'll come with time; maybe I'll be able to control my temper and be better with my words. But… With how engraved my past is to my present I doubt anything would change, not enough to be befitting of a leader. I shouldn't have any leader role at all..."

I meet Yohio's gaze, a small smile on my face. He's listening to every word I say, his gaze never faltering as he's looking at me.

"Besides, I know you're looking forward to that position… I couldn't possibly tear that chance away from you."

He blink in surprise once I'm done before he let out a happy but startled laugh, pulling away his hands to scratch the back of his neck sheepishly with a wide smile on his face. Hearing him laugh, hearing anyone in my family laugh, is like a treasure to me. A very precious treasure… _He's laughing happily as he run towards the play site, turning around with a bright smile aimed towards me while calling out my name._

"Well… I can't lie, I am anticipating being clan head. But I also know I'm not strong enough to be the last defense to our clan, I may be good but not _that_ good. I don't have that many SSP powers to use either..."

I let out a quiet snort, smile widening as I reach out to flick Yohio in the forehead. I laugh at his startled look, smile widening into a grin as I straighten up proudly and point at myself with my thumb. I'll protect them, I _will_.

"That's what I'll be for, idiot. I'm going to be best ninja Suna has ever seen and if anyone goes after our clan it'll be me that's the _first_ line of defense. And I'll make sure nothing get past me that you have to worry about."

This makes Yohio's eyes widen slightly, the emotion in his eyes shifting as if he's looking at me in a new light. Another laugh is startled out of him and I'm suddenly enveloped in a one armed hug, Yohio's second fist grinding hard into my skill. I cry out in surprise, the friction of his fist hurting my scalp a bit as I struggle to get free. Not to mention that he's messing up my hair even more, it's uncomfortable!

"Good to know you'll have my back! Also, I've heard from Sasori that he'd like to be with a strong kunoichi. So you have a great shot at him if you keep at it~."

I can feel my face explode in a blush when Yohio mention my crush, glaring up at him and try to hit him in the chin while I call out his name loudly in embarrassment and anger. This only makes Yohio laugh, dodging my attempts at hurting him and continue to mess up my hair once he get in close. Why oh why did Yuuto have to tell him about my crush…?

"Shut up!"

I scream in frustration as he once again dodge my punch, glaring at Yohio since I just can't land a hit on him. A combination of a happy buzz and burning anger settles in my chest and I stomp my foot in the ground like a child having a tantrum. Which, in all honesty, I am.

"He doesn't like me like that and you know it! This stupid crush will pass, you'll see! I won't be some love sick fan-girl!"

Yohio grin widely at me with soft giggles still wrecking his body as he's a bit further away from where I've stopped. He put his hands on his hips, eyes gentle but mischievous as he look at me with those purple eyes of his.

"Yeah yeah, sure."

I give up on trying to hit him, knowing that he'll dodge all my attempts and sit down on the ground to rest. Running around and trying to hit my cousin left me winded and tired… Damn him, damn this body. I really need to get better stamina so I don't end up feeling so weak all the time.

"But if I have to be serious, anyone who you end up with should count themselves lucky. You're really kind hearted at the core. Even if you could work a bit more on your temper~."

I let out a playful growl at him, frowning as I tiredly wave my fist in his direction.

"And you should… Should do something about that cocky attitude! You won't get any girls or boys acting like you know everything!"

"I just know everything about you, little cherry~."

He walk forward to ruffle my hair, making it even more of a mess as I try to hit him away from me with a loud whine. He just laugh at my attempt, moving away to continue with his training. I swear that I'll get my revenge on him and Yuuto, especially Yuuto for telling Yohio about that fucking crush I can't get rid of. I thought I could trust pseudo brother with that kind of thing but apparently not. I continue to shout meaningless insults at Yohio while he's trying to focus until I'm effectively calmed down by my cousin promising to take me with him to his and Sasori's workshop after lunch. I can't help that I enjoy Sasori's company…

Once Yohio has started with his stretching again, I quickly open my User Menu to see if I can learn the instant dungeon skill. I enter skills and sure enough, it's split off in two menus one 'Skills' and one 'Special Skills'. I press on 'Special Skill' and is pleased with what I find.

 **ID Escape (Active) Level: 1 Cost 1 SSP**

+Allows user to exit an Instant Dungeon

+Chakra cost: 100

 **ID Create (Active) Level: 1 Cost 1 SSP**

+Allows user to create an Instant Dungeon

+Dungeons available: Empty ID

+Chakra cost: 100/LVL ID

I buy both, smiling slightly at the notification that I've acquired the skills while I fix up my hair a bit so it doesn't look like a bird's nest. And I still have 2 SSP left, that's great. I wonder which Special Skill I'll unlock next. I have so many possibilities! After a little more resting time, I get up on my feet and walk towards Yohio as he's starting to stretch at the end of his practice. He's already making his own fighting style but I don't know what he's basing it off, from what I've seen beforehand it's focusing on quick strikes with your whole body following through it.

"Hey, hey, Yohio? I can finally do the thing I've been practicing so hard on, can I show you?"

He look over to me, nodding as he's still sitting down in a perfect split, stretching towards one of his feet.

"Yeah, sure. Just let me finish this..."

It takes a few seconds, to which I'm impatiently waiting on him while fiddling with my thumb. Once he relax from his stance he take a deep breath and stand up, rolling his shoulders slightly.

"Ok. What is it you've been trying to do?"

I nod back to him and grab his arm, stretching my second arm up to the sky. I let chakra gather in my hand, neutralize it from any kind of elemental affinity before I expand it outwards, guiding the nature chakra around me to follow my lead into creating a dome.

"ID create: Empty!"

I exclaim proudly, a wave of chakra rushing past us as invisible walls expand around us. Any sound of nature disappear, the feeling of wind disappear and even the nature chakra that's normally in the air isn't there anymore. I shiver slightly at the sensation but I soon grin widely at Yohio's surprised expression, placing my hands on my hips as I wait for him to say something first. My chakra is buzzing loudly in pride, so happy that I can finally create this and be of use to the clan.

"What-...? There's no wind… But there's still buildings…? What is this…?"

He look down at me with wide, curious eyes, making me snicker softly at his confusion. Seems like you don't know everything about me after all~.

"This, my dear cousin, is my Instant Dungeon dimension. With the help of nature chakra and guidance of my own, I have made an alternate dimension that's completely empty of life. Only I can enter and exit this space."

He look around again, walking away a bit as he tries to feel for the invisible wall he saw expand before. But… It's not there. I'm beaming with pride as he turn his gaze to me, feeling so incredibly proud. I try to not grin widely like an idiot, but I can't help it with how happy I am with my achievement. I'll just deny it if Yohio ever bring it up.

"So… Anything that happens in here isn't affected by the real world?"

"Nope!"

I declare proudly, looking around our compound that's completely void of life.

"And once I level up this skill I'll get all sorts of instant dungeons. I can create monsters that we can fight and gain EXP from. They might even drop stuff like money, weapons and potions that can be of use to us as a clan and to Suna as a village. And in this empty ID we can all practice on jutsus that'd normally do a lot of damage to our surroundings without worry! I think that I can even trap people in this dimension if I really want to or to get people to safety. I need to experiment with it a bit to be sure, but this ability opens up so many opportunities~. From how many anime I've seen in my previous life, I'm sure I'll get a devastating skill that'll be able to destroy whole landscapes… This is the perfect place for that kind of training~."

I giggle happily, rubbing my hands together as I start to think of different powers I might be able to have. Trying to look through my anime memories to see if I can find something that'll be useful. Of course, I can't find anything with the memory blocks but I at least find out that a lot of anime I've seen have really powerful energy powers... Maybe this power will force our Maker to demand more EXP for Leveling up, but I don't care! We can get easy money now, we can support our village with this, we can support our 'U' clan and grow in power. I'm brought out from my inner scheming as Yohio hug me, settling his head on top of mine.

"This will be really useful, for sure. Great job Mio~. I don't have that many devastating jutsus to practice but I'd love to defeat some monsters once you unlock that."

I smile wide and warm as I notice something missing that always unsettled me. He sounds warmer and more genuine… He doesn't have that strained tone to his voice like he usually does when I tell him what I've achieved or what stats I have. It's nice to hear this little change. I reach up to gently flick him in the forehead, smile widening into a grin once more.

"Of course my dear cousin~. I don't plan to keep this power to myself. Maybe you and Sasori could tag team with your puppets in the ID, that'd be fun to see. If Taro allow other people than the clan to use it that is."

He nod slightly, smile widening as he pull away from the hug to look at my face. He still look a little strained, but not as much as he did before. Did something I say change his opinion of me? Maybe... Was he _that_ worried that I'd take the clan head position away from him? Wow, he must want it badly; I've never actually asked him what his dream is. But I'm guessing it's to lead our family as the next clan head since he's been prepared for it before I got born.

"Maybe, maybe. We can talk to Taro about it together and if he agrees we could tell Sasori about your alternate dimension power when we see him after lunch. I'm sure Komushi would like to join too if Sasori is allowed, do you know what type of monsters you can create?"

I hum softly as he ask this, frowning as I think about the power Han Jee Han had. Now that I've unlocked that part of my memory I can easily recall it. There were a bunch of different ones...

"I'll get… Zombie, Ghost, Zombie and Ghost, Orges… Oh and apparently a time ratio one, I almost forgot that one. Where 30 minutes in the ID is 1 minute in real world."

I grin up at Yohio, placing my hands on my hips and eyes sparkling in glee. So many opportunities~.

"I bet that with this power acting according to this universe, I'll unlock even more and more powerful monsters~. But first I have to level it up. Maybe it can be used in combat too! That'd be so cool."

Yohio nod, his grin matching mine as he settle a hand on top of my head.

"Sounds great~. Now, I'm prepared to get out of here and tell Taro about this. This can change everything we do for Suna after all. Maybe you'll even get a whole army of people willing to enter your world just so they can defeat monsters."

I laugh softly at the thought, shaking my head in disbelief. I can't see people getting excited and swarming me to be a part of this ability, not with how many dislike me.

"Nah, that won't happen. At most it'll be our clan and friends."

I then reach up my hand towards the sky, saying 'ID escape' out loud and letting the world shatter around us. We're returned to the training ground right where we were standing in the empty ID space and I know this is the real world thanks to the nature chakra flowing around us.

"Never say never~. Next thing you know people will start calling you sensei."

I let out another loud laugh in disbelief, following Yohio as he's making his way towards Taro's house. Me? Teach people? Yeah right, I can barely handle stupid kids, I'd never have the patience to teach anyone.

"Yeah, right! When people start calling me sensei, hell will have frozen over and angels start falling out of the sky."

I shake my head at the thought, resting my hands in my pockets as we get closer to where our clan leader is. This ID will be such a great advantage for Sunagakure as a whole… The Kazekage could do so much with this ability for his people and I'll be in the middle of it. People will respect me, they'll see that I'm no pushover and they'll see how powerful I can be once I've grown a little more.

Sunagakure are a little low on money after the second war so maybe monster hunting can be a form of income for Suna… If I can level up this skill in time and it can be a form of income, we might not even have to participate in the third war. It was mostly between Konoha and Iwa anyway, Suna wasn't involved much at all. I hope I can help more… I hope that I can give more to the people around me. I want to be a ninja to save people who are weak and prove to both others and myself that I can be strong. I want to be a ninja to protect my home. And this is my second step to contributing to that cause… With my clan by my side, I can do anything.

* * *

I'm sitting on a bench outside the school, slowly eating my lunch as I look over the children running around the school yard with a frown. I'm doing my best to ignore their annoyingly loud shouts of glee as they run around without a care in the world. I wasn't allowed to sit inside today, the teachers nagging me about getting to know my classmates and getting fresh air so they forced my outside. Bullshit is what I wanted to say, the air is full of sand so it's not 'fresh' like they said.

And why should I spend time with annoying kids who don't know the difference between left and right? Get to know the ninja in the village so I can know if someone infiltrates? I can see their names above their heads and feel their chakra. Know what kind of strength and weaknesses they have? I can see that during training, not during lunch. It's just stupid… But I had to get out or I'd get detention; again. Not that I mind detention that much, I either get left with a way too easy task, finish it within a few minutes and then get to leave, or I'm left with coming up with my own things to do and I can level up my skills. It's not my fault everyone around me are annoying and constantly bother me. 'It'd stop if you make friends' is their reply, but no one grab my attention to have me consider spending time with them. Everyone annoys me in some way.

They're all just stupid brats.

The civilians have no drive or reason to being a ninja, just wanting to perform cool Jutsu and jump far distances. The clan kids are arrogant bastards who want to prove themselves to be the best, as if they'll ever come up to my level and have any chance of beating my scores. The ninja parent kids are in the middle of those two groups, which makes them even worse in my opinion. They have no solid drive for being a ninja and just cause their parent is a ninja they think they're so much better than the civilian kids and never hesitate to take up on the opportunity to put them down.

They're all bullies, every single one of them, and I don't want to spend my time pushing people down just so I can get to the top. I am strong and I want to prove it through my skills, not just beat up or humiliate others to make myself _feel_ stronger like the other brats are doing. I'm better than that. Which is also why I beat up any bullies I catch in the act. _Praise, scorn, admiration, hate, just choose what you think of me already. I don't care about any of your opinions just leave me alone._

It's getting closer to our one week break, when the water festival will occur. It's an annual festival we have once every year when we hire water elemental ninja to fill up our water supply if it hasn't rained. If it has rained, it's just a festival to celebrate the water in Suna without the water jutsus filling up our supply. Like last year the supply has to be restocked because it's been a long time since it rained, we do still have our oasis but it's preferred to not use it for tourist's sake. My family will contribute with it's own water users, now including Yohio since he has chosen water as his 'main' affinity even if he's a Reset that can use any jutsu easily. If a reset threw out every element jutsu it'd immediately slap a target on their back, so we have to choose two 'main' elements and then spread out from there. Not all adults will join, only those who have unlocked the water affinity obviously.

Something I think is fascinating is that we Resets can easily remove any type of element embedded chakra from our chakra and have it at its purest form, something I've been trying to shift into some kind of pure energy jutsu that Taro says he can use. So far I can only use it to create an instant dungeon, but it's the type of clean chakra that guides nature chakra to create a pocket dimension, not the chakra itself creating it. I absentmindedly chew on my food, focusing on sticking thin paper pieces to the tip of my fingers on my free hand. It's hard to dual task like this, but it's much needed practice for the future. I've tried to extend my chakra into strings but I can't do it without an outside source explaining how it's done, which is frustrating me to no end. I need to have Yohio or Sasori teach it to me soon, it'd help my chakra control to level up if I manage to create strings of chakra. And it could have all kinds of different uses… Maybe that's also why I can't create an energy jutsu. I need Taro to teach me one sometime.

Seeing a few kids a year above my class leer at me from the corner of my eye, I turn my head to glare right back at them. To show them that I won't surrender to any type of fear, those kids don't scare me. One of the three kids twitch at my glare and I can see his hands clench into fists when I looked over while the other two frown at me. Acting on impulsive anger, the child who clenched his fists reach down to grab hold of a large rock lying on the ground next to him and proceed to throw it towards my head. Brat...

"ID Create…"

I mumble before the stone leave the kids hand and instantly an empty instant dungeon appear around me as I enter the other dimension, the stone and the kids disappearing from my sight. I put my unfinished lunch into my inventory, standing up and brushing away some dirt from my pants. I then jog over to the place I saw the kids, raising my right fist as if to punch someone.

"ID Escape…"

The empty world around shatters and I can see the children right in front of me. Spotting who it was that threw the rock towards me, I don't hesitate to punch him square in the face and making him fall back with the force of my punch. The three of them cry out loudly in surprise when I 'teleported' to them without giving anything away with the one I just punched crying out in pain. Without stopping in my surprise attack, I twist my body and have my leg collide with the kid to my left with a roundhouse kick in his side, the fast attack taking him by surprise and hitting him just where I want it to. I glance behind me where the last one is, seeing that the kid has flinched back and put up his guard. That doesn't make me hesitate, using my lifted leg to spin around and face him.

I'm just about to launch forward to engage him in combat when a hand is firmly taking hold of my fist, sweeping my legs from under me and stretch out my arm behind me in a painful grip. I land on the ground on my stomach with something pressing firmly against the middle of my back to hold me down. I cough as my breath is taken out of me, twisting my head to glare up at the one holding me down. Of course it's a teacher… Eri Fujihara, Chuunin and in charge of the other class in my grade. She has long beautiful blond hair with her brown eyes narrowed in a fierce glare aimed towards me.

"Stop it, Mio. No fighting outside sparring hours."

I snarl angrily at that, squirming in her grip as I try to strangle her with my eyes. No fighting…? No fighting!? Then what about those three wanting to throw a rock at my head!? Then what about all those times I've stepped in to stopped that kind of bullying? Why didn't any teachers intervene then? What about all those times projectiles have been aimed at me or anyone else and those kids didn't get as much as a firm talking to? What about all those times these brats have made someone trip and ridiculed them by laughing!? Fighting is part of ninja life, fighting is part of this whole school and there are so many times the teachers could have intervened. But why is it only _ME_ who get problems from it!?

"That's fucking rich! These three threw a stone at me, you expect me to just sit nice and quiet and take that!? No fighting during school time? What about all those times _I've_ had to break up a fight huh!? What is your _problem_ with me!?"

I struggle more in her grip but Eri effectively silence me when she press my outstretched arm more towards the centre of my back, making me cry out in pain and cease my struggle. I don't need to have my arm jump out of its socket from this shit...

"You're disobeying the school rules, they're there for a reason. You're a very talented young girl, don't waste your abilities on petty arguments. It's only you who engage yourself in fighting others."

"Fucking bullshit!"

I scream out in return, not caring that I'm causing a scene right now. My chakra is buzzing loud and angry over how they're treating me, treating _others_ who aren't their oh so beloved clan kids. The teachers are all so full of shit, treating everyone equally my ass! They never interfere when clan bastards bully civilians, never when the ninja kids bully each other either. It's only when it's clan kid against clan kid that they intervene, which means every fucking time _I'm_ involved. Because only I can't stand for this kind of bullshit. And it's only _me_ who they restrain! I'm _done_ with this. Are they even _human_? Now I can see it… Fuck… They're throwing away civilians chances before they even start!? They let all this happen to discourage them. _Judging eyes following me. Lies, lies, they're all lying. Why can't more people be like him?_

"All you ever care about are your fucking clan kids! You're letting the civilians in this school be ridiculed and beaten to make them give up on being ninja early!"

I cry out in pain at her jerk against my arm, just closing my eyes as I continue to scream out in anger. They're all such idiots, they're all so annoying! But the worst ones are those who don't _do_ anything. What the hell is the meaning of letting all of this happen, to push away kids before they get to try!?

"I-If you don't do anything against it, I fucking _will_! I'll beat common sense into every s-single one of you!"

"Mio, _enough_!"

Eri says loudly, lifting me up slightly only to slam me down onto the ground harder. I cough loudly, tears gathering in my eyes at the pain but I refuse to let them fall. She's that kind of 'no nonsense' teacher but despite that she's just as bad as everyone else in this school.

"We're teachers, here to _guide_ you all towards being ninja. To push you beyond your limits and help you with serving our village. We do everything we can to help you all grow and you assume we're trying to hinder and discriminate people of our village? Stop this behavior at once or you'll end up being expelled!"

I flinch when she says that, gritting my teeth in anger. They wouldn't expel me… They all know I'm the best ninja in our first year, they'd never risk losing someone as strong as me. They wouldn't… Eri finally step off me when she thinks my rebellion is finished and I sit up to lightly rub at my sore arm. I refuse to look around me, refuse to see if anyone else is listening as I glare up at Eri. They're all so annoying… They have a sense of duty but doesn't see any point in giving everyone an equal amount of chance. They're all prideful bastards with sticks up their asses… What is their problem? _It's too bright, everything is too fancy. Why am I here with these stuck up bastards? All they do is judge me before I even open my mouth to speak._

"I see how this academy works…"

I start off, still kneeling as I glare at her. At least she's stopped, listening to what I have to say. I can at least appreciate that; but I still hate everyone in this school.

"And I'll never accept it. I'll become strong, the strongest person in this whole village and I'll use that power to destroy anyone who want to use others as a stepping stone like cowards!"

I stand up and look around me, noticing how many kids have gathered in the area. It's from a lot of different grades, not only my own. I see a few 11 years olds in the back as well, curious about what's happened. Instead of getting nervous of the amount of people around, I straighten up, pointing at myself while address all of them. I'm strong. I'll be stronger and I'll use that power for the good of _everyone_ , not only my family. _I'll show them all I'm better. That I can do more than they could ever dream of. I'll be someone my family can be proud of._

"You hear me!? I'll be stronger than anyone! I'll show all of you stuck up bastards what it means to be _human_ and value others _worth_! I don't care about any of your opinions, you can hate me for all I care!"

I turn back to Eri, my fierce glare being met by one of her own. Oh she's pissed at me, but I don't care. I'm _done._ I'm done dealing with the bullying around me and not shouting out to the world just how stupid I think it is. We're all _human_. We all have a chance to grow and this whole school just disregard all civilians without giving them a solid chance. 1 out of 15 civilians stay in the academy after the first year, I've checked the statistics. It's sickening how they favour everyone else. Sickening how they look down on civilians like they can never be special. They'll never be special like me but some have potential! Looking at them with those judging eyes I myself hated in my past life. I won't stay silent when I know how infuriating those gazes can be…

"But I'm not some puppet you can play around with through your strings! I'll fight for my family, I'll fight for Suna and I'll fight for _anyone_ that needs it! Give me detention, hell, expel me if you want! But I won't stay quiet and deal with this, you're all _idiots_ for not seeing equal worth in _everyone_! I'm not the villain here for defending my nindo way!"

I then turn to the three kids who just tried to throw a rock at me, who put me in this fucking mess in the first place. All three of them flinch at my glare and a small part of me feel satisfied by this. Fear might be effective…

"And I won't hesitate to _beat you into the ground_ to get my fucking point across!"

With that said, I turn back to Eri and sneer at her one last time before I activate my ID create to escape this ridiculous situation and make my way into the academy with no one now in sight. I'm still seething, teeth clenched in anger and hands twitching to punch something. I take a deep breath, slowly letting it out as I start to reign in my control on my chakra, making it pull back and slowly settle down. I'm still burning in anger, my chakra still flickering angrily like a burning flame but not as much as before. I'm fucking _done_ with dealing with this shit. No one in this whole school is a decent human being, it's infuriating. Once I've entered my classroom, I use ID Escape and stalk towards the back seat I occupy every day, which has been dubbed as 'my seat' since no one dares to steal it from me.

 **Ding! A skill has been created through a special action!**

I look at the notification window with my frown still in place, sitting down on my seat before I focus on the skill I just recieved. I blink a few times, tilting my head as I read it over.

 **Threatening (Active) Level: 1 EXP: 00%**

+Represent how threatening the user is when they actively try to threaten someone.

+10% chance of affecting the debuff 'scared' to target if their level is lower than the user. 5% decrease efficiency/LVL above the user. +5% efficiency/Lvl below her.

+Makes enemies 2% more weary of being your opponent when it's activated. +5%/Lvl below the users.

Knowing that I actually frighten those boys make me feel a lot better. My lips twitch into a slight smile, leaning back as I close the red screen and gaze out at the empty classroom. If I can frighten people in battle, then I won't have to fight them. It'd spare me a lot of trouble… I will never aim to kill, that's the last thing I'd want to do, but if I'm still forced to; I'll beat them senseless until they're begging for mercy. A flash of dead, blue eyes appear in my mind and I shiver, taking out my lunch from my inventory to finish it. I just have to be strong enough to not have to kill someone to win. I start to slowly calm down from my earlier surge of anger, my feelings only simmering under the surface as I get some well deserved alone time.

I should try and unlock more special skills, it'd help me a lot in the long run. Seeing as how many anime I watched in my past life the possibilities are endless, as long as the power was described in the anime I think I might be able to recreate it. I know there's some kind of… Mind thing power. If I can unlock the mind power, then I could have it a lot easier with looking through my memories. Unlocking special skills would be a breeze, I'd just have to gather enough SSP to unlock them. As long as I have my Prodigy title on and as long as we have competitive ninja classes from time to time I'd get SSP no problem. Maybe I could also get quests if other brats challenged me in some kind of way after the declaration I just made. That'd be helpful actually… Though I doubt I'll get off easy once Taro or my parents hear about what happened in the academy today but right now I'm too irritated to care.

I hum curiously, watching the clock on the wall. There's still 30 minutes until lunch break ends and we need to meet at the training grounds, I still have some time left of my lunch break even if those brats ruined it. Maybe I can squeeze in a bit of meditation to try and see if I can unlock a mind ability… It'd help me a lot with unlocking special skills. I finish my lunch quickly and then put away my lunchbox into my inventory before I shift into a lotus position on my seat. I bring out my scroll of description on how to make Jutsu and open it to read it through once more.

I need to focus my attention one one specific memory, right… But it doesn't explain how I know which memory of the show is right. I guess it's instinct based. I take a deep breath, putting away the scroll once I've read the checklist in it and concentrate. Step one, find what you want to learn. I want to learn… some type of mind jutsu. Some type of ability that allow me to enter my own mind. An ability that let me look through my memories…

Naruto…

Step two, once the show is found determine the source of it. There's someone in this world that has that ability. Enter other people's minds; read it… Control the body… Who can do that? How?

Yamanaka…

Step three, search for the description of the technique so that you can use it for yourself. Yamanaka. Yamanaka Ino… When did she use it? I-... I can immediately see body switch jutsu so that's not it. What else is there…? She can control the mind and read the mind. But how…? There's a facility; scrolls. I twitch and tense up in surprise as the information flood over me, giving me a slight headache. Ah, mind reading jutsu… it's focusing on ying chakra, forcing its way into that person's mind through their own ying chakra. Everyone has their own mind space. I see…

 **Ding! Congratulations!**

 **Through a certain focus on memory search you're able to mimic The Yamanaka clan's mind reading technique! Now all that's left is to create it from your chakra!**

I huff softly, frowning at the window that appears before me and close it. Yeah right, just create it. I can't use it unless I unlock it… I enter my main menu, rubbing my forehead softly as I enter my special skill menu. Let's see how much it costs….

 **SSP (Special skill point):** 2

 **ID Escape (Active) Level: 2 Acquired**

+Allows user to exit an Instant Dungeon

+Chakra cost: 100

 **ID Create (Active) Level: 2 Acquired**

+Allows user to create an Instant Dungeon

+Dungeons available: Empty ID

+Chakra cost: 100/LVL ID

 **Mind reading (Active) Level: Cost 3 SSP**

+Allows user to enter the mind of themselves or another person to read their memories.

+Chakra cost: 50/Minute

+To remove mind blocks cost additional 50CP/Minute

3 Points; I only have two… Well, alright then I guess I have to wait with getting it. I shouldn't be too hasty anyway. I can't help the small sigh from escaping, glancing to the clock on the wall to see the time. I didn't think it took that long to meditate but apparently it's still 10 minutes left. I shift out from my lotus position, rolling my shoulders and stretching out my legs. At least once I get my mind reading ability I'll be able to unlock my memories faster, but I have to wait until the next class challenge…

I have a slight smile on my face, getting excited at the thought of the abilities I can obtain. It'll take a long time, many years I suppose with how many SSP I need to gather. I need to find some way to get more SSP… Maybe I can get SSP once I can create monsters in my Instant Dungeons. Only the future will tell; I'll still train and get stronger, I can't rest with another war approaching within the next 8 years. I _need_ to get stronger… I need to show them all… I need to show everyone I can be stronger than them. That I am a better person than them despite my setbacks. I'm brash, reckless… But at least I don't use others for my own gain, I'll get there on my own. I don't need to push people down to feel better like these brats.

As I think back to what I said to the teacher Eri with a calmer head, I can't help but flinch slightly. I'm… still naive without meaning to it seems. There's no place in this whole world where people _aren't_ using one another. I-... I need to think about this a bit more… But there's no way I'll apologize for saying what I said, I don't regret it. I will beat up anyone I think is stupid and I refuse to be controlled in any way. I don't regret it. But maybe I should think more of how this village work and come up with reasons why it is how it is. I still have a long way to go...

* * *

She's getting into a lot of trouble in school due to her temper. And she THINK she understands how the academy works but she really doesn't, it's more complicated than that. She'll learn that she can't know everything in time. A little bit more about the start of her academy life and a heart to heart conversation with her fellow reset that she really needed.

 **This chapter's question:** What do you think her summon is going to be in the far off future? (It's already decided but I'm curious to know.)

 **Review replies:**

 **SnowCatt:** I'll explain why she is how she is down below, there's a good reason for her thought process.

Oooh those are some good symptoms~. X3 Thank yooou.

That'd be a cool idea! I'll see if I can work it out somehow in the story, double jump would be really useful. I imagine being able to breathe anywhere can be done through jutsu or chakra so I'm unsure about that one, but I'll see what I can do.

 **The-Funeral-Pyre:** Thank you! I'm always doing my best. ^^

Yeah she has almost too many options. I've already written quite a bit in the story and it's so hard for me to decide which ability she should equip first. And I definitely used your idea on the chapter I'm writing on right now (won't tell which) so thank you for the idea!

 **The Violet Imagination:** That would be really cool actually... I think I can mix in that idea with one of the powers she'll have access to, it IS very fitting since she comes from Suna. Thank you!

 **Mio personality explanation:**

Previous Mio always learned things quickly. Studies, sports, she excelled at anything she did without putting too much effort into it. Because of this, previous Mio grew up to have a huge superiority complex, getting angry and mad at others when they underestimate her just because how she acted. And this Superiority complex has been carried over to Mio when she retrieved her memories.

Since Mio unlocked her memories at the age of 3, her soul hadn't synchronized properly with the body yet. Thus, the memories of her past overrides those of her present in a way because the soul from the past is stronger than the soul of the present. This is why sleeping with the memories unlocked is important, something Mio refuses to do, because it helps the older soul's memories to connect properly with the current one. Instead of mixing the two personalities together into a proper balance, the previous personality overrode the current one. Only a few things carried over from her Mio personality into the personality she has now: the love for her family, her reason for becoming stronger and her willingness to help others.

 **So in conclusion:** Because of her early age, lack of sleep and no one knowing the consequences of getting their memories early; Mio's personality is almost a picture perfect copy of her past life personality. Despite her knowing that the others in her class are just children, she thinks everyone should be like her or they are a failure.


	7. Five years old

Hey ho, let's go!

This chapter shows a little more of the abilities Mio will have and develop as she grows older, kind of an introduction chapter to her abilities. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far! Review replies will be at the bottom of the chapter. ^^

I really loved hearing all of your thoughts on what summon she'll get, thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only my OCs

* * *

 _Writing in this text:_ means flashback of previous life

Five years

I walk along the market street with Aiko, looking around with a blank face at all the different salesmen trying to sell their stuff. Aiko, being a jounin, has promised to take me to the weapon shop to get a feel for different weapons. I can't enter the store without an adult since I'm not a genin yet and this will be the third time in this life that I enter a weapon store. And this is the first time we're going there to try out weapons that aren't kunai or shuriken, but something that I can use as a main weapon other than my fists. I look up at my cousin with a smile, hands intertwined behind my back as we walk. I feel so at ease around my family, especially those who are jounin; it's like nothing in the whole world can hurt me.

"Soooo any ideas what kind of weapon can fit someone like me?"

Aiko snort softly, looking down at me with warm baby blue eyes with her dark green hair tied in it's usual high ponytail. She's really pretty, as usual, and is now 19 years old. She has recently moved in with her boyfriend, Kai, which means we never see her around the compound unless it's a huge family dinner or a birthday party. I managed to snatch up some of her free time to spend a whole day with her, just Aiko and me. She might've been annoying when I was younger, always treating me like a kid and never taking me seriously, but now she's a mature yet mischievous young woman. And a very compassionate person like many others in our clan; I'm trying to be more like her since she's a good model to follow.

"Weeeell… Seeing as you love beating up people but is afraid to kill, I think you're better suited for blunt weapons. Maybe nunchucks or a bo staff."

I shudder slightly at the thought of dead eyes, quickly shaking my head and looking in front of me with a fierce frown. She's right, I refuse to kill anyone and risk seeing those eyes… I'll be strong enough that I won't need to kill to win.

"Out of all fears I could've gotten it gotta be the one related to killing…. I mean, we're ninja. That's our job..."

I mumble grumpily, reaching up to gently grasp onto her hand. She gently squeeze my hand back and she send a slight pulse of soothing chakra into my system with the gesture. I immediately relax at the comfort, my worries melting away as I look up to meet Aiko's smile with my own. I might not like showing weakness in public, like grabbing someone's hand, but with my family it's different. They all help me keep calm, to keep a level head. Being around them really helps me in many different ways...

"Don't worry so much Mio-chan. At least it's not fear for snakes. We're living in the desert full of snakes!"

I snort softly at the thought, shaking my head and lightly bump my shoulder against her side. I'm barely reaching up past her waist but I'm growing at a steady rate. Being five years old I know my time for a growth spurt is drawing closer. I'll be as tall as Aiko once I'm fully grown, I'm sure of it.

"Don't use 'chan' with me. But yeah, ok it's better than snakes… I still want to become the strongest ever. And being scared of that will set me back a lot. Sometime soon, I know I have to get over that fear. Somehow..."

I frown again and look ahead, seeing the weapon shop further away as we're getting closer to it.

"With the third war getting closer; I know I gotta fight. I don't want to be a burden and I don't want to hesitate..."

Aiko lets go of my hand to hit me in the back of my head, making me stumble forward slightly with a yelp escaping me. I glance back to Aiko with a glare, rubbing the now sore spot; those kind of hits hurt… Aiko huffs at me, crossing her arms with a determined frown on her face.

"Now listen here, pipsqueak. You're a Masago! You can never be a burden to your team as long as you try. Not only are you a Masago but also a _Reset_. You'll be way stronger than I am when you're 15."

I blink in surprise when she says the last part, looking up at her with my eyes widening. Well, I can disregard the height insult in favor to the compliment. But to be stronger than Aiko in 10 years? That-... I really can't see that happening. Not when Aiko feels like such a far away goal. I didn't even notice that we stopped in the middle of the road with the people passing us aiming side glances our way.

"Besides, with that ID create thing you've told us about, you'll just skyrocket in strength, I know it. You haven't even used a single point and even without using them you're the best in your class. Our power might focus more on stats than Level, but you're going to be stronger than everyone in our clan, I guarantee it."

I shift slightly when she says that, fiddling with my thumb nervously as I nod. Yohio said the same thing... But I don't want that to be a sure ticket to becoming the clan head, that's what I'm most nervous about. I haven't talked to anyone other than Yohio about my uncertainty in leading our family; to lead anyone. I'm hardworking and determined but-… That doesn't mean I'm fit to be a leader.

"Well, yeah but… Yohio is gonna be clan head, not me."

"Bullshit."

She snorts loudly before she continues to walk, shaking her head as if to dismiss that thought completely. I hastily follow her, looking up to Aiko and waiting for her to continue. I should tell her… I shouldn't let her draw her own conclusions.

"That brother of mine haven't been hard working when he was younger. He's just doing it cause he'd make our family look bad otherwise. You have a drive Mio, but he doesn't. That's why you'll get stronger than him, because you've been working hard from the start. He didn't even try until you were born and his position as the clan head got threatened. Since you'll be stronger you'll automatically be clan head, the best get the position after all."

This information makes me feel guilty, like she's telling me things I shouldn't know about. I see… So it really was the threat against his position that made him take a certain distance from me. But since our talk about the clan head position half a year ago, he's been a lot more open with me, a lot more willing to help me and spend time with me. He still look unsure, but at least he's warmer and more open than before. I really should tell the rest of the clan about it. Can I tell Aiko even if we're in public?

"I-... I may be stronger but he's reading up more about politics, he'd be better for the clan in the long run. That kind of stuff don't interest me. I can't-... I won't be as good as he can be."

Aiko let out a soft sigh, stopping by the opening of the weapons shop to look at me with a slightly sad smile. This makes me frown more, worry nagging in my chest that she's taking this the wrong way. I want her to understand without outright saying it…

"Did he say something like that to you…? Don't worry about that, once Taro decides you're the best one for the job you'll be trained properly for the position under his wing. Don't let anything my little brother say steer you away from the path you want to take"

I step inside the shop with Aiko as I'm still focused on my cousin. She did take it the wrong way… Why did she say that though? Does she think Yohio would manipulate me in any way? That's impossible, he's my cousin. He'd never do something like that against me, no matter how badly he want the position as clan head. I'm sure of that.

"No, no, Yohio never said anything like that to me. I-... It's my own opinion. Aiko, I'm-... I'm not fit to lead the clan. I don't want the position..."

I mumble at the end, looking around to make sure no one heard me. It would cause a bad reputation for the clan if anyone did.

Aiko walk over to a set of weapons in the store and she picks up a small club, weighing it in her hand and studying it as she answers me. She has a slight frown on her face, glancing back at me over her shoulder.

"Why not…? It's the strongest who's the head, the one who can protect the clan from anything that threatens it. Like the Kazekage protects the village from political and physical disputes. You're training to be so much more while Yohio is a puppeteer..."

I let out a soft sigh and walk up beside her to look at the blunt weapons as well, keeping my voice low to not bring anyone's attention to us. I don't want others to hear me... I can't cause trouble for them just because I want to show my full confidence.

"I'm blunt, impulsive and sometimes irrational if my temper get the best of me. I'm bad with people and is constantly frustrated with others because of that; I don't get along with anyone outside our family… I won't be able to handle those long, boring council meetings Tako have to attend to. But Yohio is learning about it in his free time, he's learning about it to know what to do and not to do with higher ranked people like the council... He's training for the position in his own way."

I then glance up at Aiko, a wide smile on my face as I recall how Yohio told me all that he's learned about Suna. How happy he was to share his knowledge with me, to teach me how this village's ranking works. He's really brilliant in that way…

"He may be weak physically due to his puppeteering, but he has a really strong mind. Did you know that he's teaching me about how the village works? He's great at teaching as well."

Aiko blink a few times as I say this, her eyes widening slightly. It's like she never imagined that I wouldn't want the position for myself. I'm sure she saw the strength in her own brother, it's hard to miss when he look so much surer of himself than he did a years ago. It's a bit sad that the whole world focus on physical strength than actual capability… But, well, that's the life and job of a ninja.

"I… I see, alright. You should tell everyone this during our next dinner together, it'd be bad to just leave everyone assuming. Cause right now, I know the majority of us are certain you'll be next head when you turn 15."

I nod slightly to Aiko, smiling wider as I briefly hug her around the waist. I'm glad that she understands and just accepts this, that she'll support me. I release her with a quiet 'thank you' before turning back to the weapons in front of us with new energy. I really adore them all. There are a lot of different blunt weapons all ranging in size. A bit further to the left I can see a few string weapons as well and I'm determined to stay away from the knife side of the shop. I reach up and gently pluck down a bo staff, testing its weight in my hands. I take a step back and spin it slightly to test its weight.

"I'll be the strongest ever and make sure anyone aiming for our clan will never get past the first defense that's me. I'll still train hard, that'll never change."

I grin widely at Aiko as I swing the staff a few more times to try out the feel for it. I then put it back and use 'observe' on the weapon. Wooden Bo staff, increasing agility and give extra 10 in damage. That's kinda good. She let out a soft snicker before she lightly poke my forehead with the club she's holding.

"Well that's reassuring. And if you're gonna be on the front line, you'll see me there too. And _I'll_ make sure no one gets through me before I know that you're ready to take on the dangers around you. But you got any idea on what type of weapon you'd like to use?"

I flinch back at the poke, frowning slightly at her in irritation. But I can feel my chakra flare up in a fond warmth at her declaration of protection. Despite her teasing nature, she's really a great role model… I think about her question for a second, blinking up at my cousin while rubbing my forehead. Close, mid or long range…. I hum in thought, looking at the bo staff I just put back.

"I'd… prefer to have a lot of choices. I've just recently unlocked my mind reading but I haven't delved in to see what Special Skills I can get. I remember bits and pieces…"

I pick up the tonfa and test out a few swings with them, the metal rod straight along my arm and giving me a sense of comfort.

"I do know one deals with swords, but I won't use any swords at all. The other has superpowers and another magic. I can be very versatile with whatever I choose and I'd like it to be the same with my weapon…"

I can't help the slight smile on my lips as I spin the two metal rod weapons lightly in my hands, the feeling of these weapons… It brings back memories of my past life. _I have a steady grip on the metal rod he gave me, just staring at his grinning face in confusion. I can't use this shit, no matter how much I hate them, I can't beat up those shit heads. But he just grins wider and gesture to the rusty car._

"I like these ones. They'd protect my arms and make me able to deliver hard hits But I also like the Bo staff with its mid range. I don't think I'd need a long range even if it'd be nice to have, I can use kunai and jutsu for that."

I grin sheepishly up at Aiko, setting the tonfa back into its previous place.

"If I can combine two weapons it'd be nice to have them as one set. Then I could shift between them depending on the situation."

Aiko hum curiously as she mull this over in her head, looking between me and the weapons laying before us. She soon nod with a slight smile, picking up the tonfas to spin them expertly in her hands. Show off...

"Well, I know that the blacksmith here can combine Nunchuck and Bo staff nicely since he's done that for one of my teammates. It can be really effective once you get good at it, I can see if it can be fixed with bo staff and tonfa as well. I've dealt with Tonfa and bo staff before, I can help you with learning stances for both of them."

"Of course you've dealt with them before, miss weapon expert."

I say fondly, smiling and happy to get her opinion on this. I never really considered the weapons could be combined; that's really cool. I already figured that Aiko would be the one who teach me the basics of any weapon I get since her focus is mastering any and all weapons she can get her hands on, it's really impressive. If I ever find a legendary weapon, I know I'd give it to her.

"But alright, I'll look at the others before I decide though. I might like those two but I might like something else more."

I then proceed to look around some more, trying out the different clubs, rod weapons as well as the string weapons. None of them feel really… right. Well in terms of 'feeling right' only the Tonfa fit that category but that's mostly cause I used a metal rod to bust up stuff in my last life. The bo staff is similar that way so I'm comfy with that too. I end up returning to the Tonfa, picking them up and holding onto their leather grips. I try a few punches with them and switch the hold of the Tonfa to have the rod point outwards for another wider swing. Yeah, I feel most comfortable with these. I did try nunchuck but they felt too clunky.

"Yeah, I like these the most; solid rods seems to be more my style."

I look up at Aiko with a slight grin, putting the weapons away once more.

"I'll get something like this when I get older, when I become genin, I still have lots to learn with my taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu. Gotta get the basics first before I can move on."

Aiko snort softly at me, ruffling my short curly hair with a fond grin on her face.

"Sounds good, pipsqueak. I still don't get why your father wouldn't let you try weapons earlier, it's not like it's forbidden."

I whine loudly as she mess up my hair, reaching up to fix it as I follow my cousin outside with an angry glare aimed at her back. I continue to glare at Aiko while I walk up beside her, no one seems to have any respect for my hair no matter how many times I tell them off. What's with everyone and ruffling it…? It's messy enough as it is, it doesn't need to be even more of a mess to make me look like a troll.

"Dad didn't want me to have too much to do at once. He said that if I get a weapon now, I'd never get really good at the basics. That's why I haven't asked anyone to take me there until now. But, well, it's a good excuse to get a whole 'Aiko day' all to myself without anyone else bothering us, right?"

Once my hair is fixed, I grab onto Aiko's hand like I did before, letting her lead me along. I don't know where we're going, but Aiko did tell my parents that we'd do something fun and eat dinner at her place.

"Well that's just bullshit, looking at weapons doesn't mean you have to _buy_ them. It's just to give you ideas!"

She says, lightly squeezing my hand as she frown at the street ahead of us.

"Seriously, sometimes Hiro-san and Hanami-san coddle you too damn much. You'd be a lot stronger if they just let you train as you want to. Has your aim gotten any better?"

I nod and grin proudly, straightening up slightly. Recalling the brats expressions during my last 'show off' mission like it was just yesterday, I love feeling above others in that regard.

"Yyyyup! Last shuriken practice I threw three at once and they all hit bullseye on different targets~. Everyone were so angry that they couldn't do the same thing. Those new kids in our class don't know that they have no chance of taking my top spot yet but I'll teach them soon."

"Just watch out with that pride of yours, you know how the clan conflicts are."

She warn me with an amused glint in her eye. I know she doesn't really care about that, she's admitted herself that she picked fights whenever she could while she was in the academy. Both because of her equally short temper and to get lots of quests for EXP. It's a good tactic but not one I'd prefer, it'd be too close to bullying to my liking to beat them all just because I can. I still get challenges, but not as many as Aiko got during her time in school. It's also a relief to know that Aiko once was a hot head who then mellowed out as she grew older. It gives me hope that I can learn to do the same.

"Yeah yeah, I know _mooooom._ Most of the kids hate me for how good I am. No one tries to outright fight me or anything but I still get regular challenges. People tried to follow me a while back, but they backed off once I told them off. They should know better than to raise their own value by following someone."

That Kurisu Sakyou still tries to sit beside me during lunch or class from time to time, which I accept as long as she stay quiet. She hasn't tried to engage me in any conversation but I'm almost certain that she'll try to talk to me once she get her bravery together. At the moment she's a quiet nuisance, which is good enough to let her be around.

"You know, the only reason Yuuto has any friends is cause he doesn't like to show off. Maybe you should try that sometimes."

I immediately shake my head at her idea, grinning up at Aiko.

"Nope, never, that wouldn't work now that I'm labeled a prodigy. If I show any kind of weakness, they'd just jump on the chance to take me down. Besides, I hate every single one of those brats. They're all full of themselves, thinking they're tough shit and try to snuff out anyone else they deem weaker. A coward's way out is what I say. If you want to prove yourself strong, you have to do it with your own power, not use others to make yourself _feel_ stronger."

I shrug at her, focusing on the road ahead of us. I can see the village wall with it's opening so clearly from this angle, not really able to see it if I'm confined to the compound. I've always thought of getting up there one day. Where Gaara, the future fifth Kazekage, always watched the sunset. I'll definitely climb up there someday; maybe it'd help me with dealing with my anger. I've never seen the vast desert with my own eyes...

I let her guide me down a different path from the main road, curious over where we're going. The two of us talk a bit more about my academy studies and I'm happy to boast a bit over my accomplishments. After a while I redirected the conversation topic to her boyfriend, which then developed into her teasing me if I have any type of interest in boys, which I firmly deny over and over. I blush deeper and deeper for every handsome boy she brings up, mortified that she's trying to figure out my love life.

Like Kono, the cute boy who's always smiling and waving at me when I pass by his and his father's food stand. Or Shota, the guy that's rookie number one in the whole academy at the moment. But it's when she brings up Sasori that I explode, cursing Yuuta and Yohio for telling Aiko about it. Apparently they didn't, but that's all she needed to start teasing me about my crush on the red headed male. I refuse to answer any of her questions and it's really irritating how she can read my body language so easily and pick apart what I like about him. As I'm soooo close to hitting her in my anger, Aiko effectively calm me down through petting my hair and telling me she loves me. I hate and love that she can calm me so easily… It's nice to spend time with Aiko again.

After a bit of walking, we end up at a large V shaped house with the word 'water' on it in kanji. I suddenly realize where she's taken me and my eyes widen in surprise. My earlier anger over Aiko's teasing completely forgotten.

"No way…"

I start off, voice getting louder in excitement as I look at Aiko.

"We're at the swimming pool? Isn't it super expensive to enter!? Aiko, you're spoiling me!"

She just laugh at my reaction, a wide grin on my face as she lightly tug me along. I eagerly follow her, of course I would, I'll get to learn how to swim in this body! _I ruffle the brats hair, telling him that I'll watch him before he jog over towards the highest trampoline._

"You were supposed to be taken here aaaages ago. You just gotta promise me that you won't run off on me ok?"

I agree to this, hugging Aiko's arm as we enter the building. I really have the best cousins ever. Moments like these makes me happy to be the youngest in the family, I love getting spoiled this way. Though, I'll never admit it of course.

* * *

"Uhm… M-Masago-san…?"

I turn towards Kurisu Sakyou, who is once again joining me during lunch time, with a slight glare that she broke the silence between us and halted my line of thought. The timid girl flinch under my stare, the 6 year old shifting nervously.

"What, Sakyou?"

I ask rudely, taking a bite from my food while staring her down. Mother always make sure to pack my favorite egg roll with my lunch no matter which combination she prepares. Of course, she always add vegetables too; they're important for body growth after all..

"W-Well…"

Kurisu start off, fiddling with her chopsticks as she look down at her lap. She's like a timid, squeaking mouse… Cute in it's own way but still irritating in another. She's just so- pathetic.

"Why-. Why are y-you always so… angry with everyone?"

I scoff loudly at her choice of words, swallowing my food before I look away from her so I won't get too angry with her timid exterior. Angry? I wouldn't call it angry. More like constantly irritated at their dumbass actions.

"Because everyone are idiots, that's why. The teachers are ok, I guess, but the kids? They're all stuck up bastards with sticks so far up their asses that they can't see the huge bulge of pride they got on their backs that's weighing them down. They think beating up others will make them stronger, which is absolutely stupid."

I shake my head with a frown as I focus more on the school yard, watching the kids gather in their own groups and eat lunch together. They're talking amongst each other, smiling and laughing like real friends. If they only could draw strength from another instead of draining strength from others.

"I hate brats like those. Brats who haven't found a goal to focus on too. Speaking of, why the hell are you hanging around me from time to time?"

I look over towards her, eyes narrowed into a glare. She let out a surprised squeak, holding up her hands and waving them in front of her as a way to try and 'dissolve' my ire aimed at her. Doesn't really work though, only makes me irritated over her startled movements. She has no backbone at all…

"N-No reason! I-I mean it's-! I-! I-I'm sorry I j-just w-worry-!"

I have to cut her off there, leaning forward with my glare hardening. She is worried? Worried about me not making friends? Worried for my safety? I don't need that kind of senseless pity, I can handle myself.

"You think I'm _weak_? That I need friends to _protect me_ from the clan conflicts? It's I who's standing on top of this whole ordeal, don't underestimate me Sakyou…"

"N-No not that, n-never that Masago-san!"

Well, at least she's using a respectful honorific… She shift away slightly, looking away from me as she tries to get her bearings together. I can almost see how she regret speaking up to me, making my lips twitch just a little in an effort to not smile. Skittish animal… I look away to eat some more of my lunchbox when I notice my chakra flaring up in anger. I can't look at her pathetic self for too long or I'll just get angry.

"I-I'm-. I w-worry for myself. What-... Y-You're always s-so brave and-. I just wonder h-how you do it. You e-even stood up a-against a teacher against b-bullying that everyone does… I- It's a-admirable. So-... So I w-wanna… be… friends…?"

My lips once again twitch in an effort to not smile, leaning back in my seat on the bench as I glance over to analyze her body language. She's nervous, terrified even, as she's waiting for my approval. I don't want to be friends with anyone. But… Maybe I could use some help with specific chakra manipulation techniques that I know but can't do myself. I know some, but there are so many other chakra train techniques that I know of. Maybe, maybe. At least she's acceptable enough and respectful towards me. I can see an opportunity of a cooperation here…

"I don't do friends. But I accept your company since out of everyone in this whole school you're the least annoying one."

I take another bite of food as I mull this over for a little longer, looking out over the school yard once more.

"Don't you usually hang out with that Kuza kid's group?"

I motion towards a group of 4 kids, all of them clan children and female. I then glance at Kurisu to judge her reaction. A little test… Kurisu flinch as she look at her group of friends, putting aside her chopsticks on top of her empty lunchbox to clasp her hands together in her lap. She seems guarded and unsure… She'll either lie, tell a partial truth or relax and tell me the truth. When I see her shoulders relax slightly, I'm slightly satisfied to know that I'll hear the truth. Thank you Ichigo for giving me those long lessons of body language. Even if I might not remember it all...

"They… T-Their condition for me to b-be in their group is t-to make their homework. I-... T-They're not bad people, just d-don't want to do school work… And-. It's hard t-to feel alone without anyone to s-spend time with…"

She glance shyly at me once she says this, flinching as she notice my serious stare. She immediately start to wave around her arms as if she's said something wrong, looking even more nervous than she did before.

"I-I mean-! Not that there's anything w-wrong with being alone y-you're doing an a-amazing job at-! At being strong despite it, y-yeah!"

I snort softly at her nervous babble, a grin stretching over my face. Alright, she's still annoying but not too annoying. I could handle an hour with her but I doubt I'd be able to handle more than that with her skittish personality. I'll give her a shot… If she can't help me then I'll just tell her to buzz off. Seeing as she come from a medical field family however, I'm certain that she has a few chakra practice methods that she can tell me about. _I help him with his self worth, he help me with my temper. It's hard whenever I have to leave for that fucking school, I just want to drag him with me._

"You pass. Meet me at the gates after school, Sakyou. I don't do friendships but maybe the two of us can help each other. I'll give you pointers to strengthen that weak backbone of yours."

I eat up the last of my lunch before I stand up, putting the lunch box into my inventory and brushing off my hands on my brown pants.

"Don't make me wait up."

After I've said that, I walk off towards where I can feel a few chakra signatures around the corner where one of them feels really nervous and scared with how it's flickering. Once I see the scene before me, my eyes narrow in anger. They're upperclassmen but that doesn't matter… They're mocking someone two years above me that they can't perform genjutsu properly.

"Hey!"

I shout out towards them, stalking forward with determined steps. The four bullies turn towards me with equally annoyed faces but that doesn't deter me in any way. It only makes me more determined to win.

"What the hell are you doing mocking him for not knowing genjutsu? You were there too at one point you pricks!"

"Oh it's the Masago."

One of them sneer at me which gives me enough time to observe them all. They're all level 7… That can be bad… I swipe at the air, pressing on my Yuuto contact to call him. I'll definitely need backup on this one if they choose to fight, I can't take on all 4 at once. Maybe one level 7 but never 4. And the kid huddling by the wall won't be that much help, he's a ninja kid with level 4.

"Heck yeah it's the Masago, here to tell you to back the fuck off. Making others feel bad about themselves won't make you feel any better about yourselves."

I notice that Yuuto has picked up my message and I proceed to discreetly tell him where I am. This isn't the first time I've needed his assistance during lunch time…

"And behind the left wing? The darkest part of the school? Seriously, that's so fucking cliché that it almost makes me cry. Now drop that kid before I _make_ you."

I then shift into my modified fighting stance, seeing as I mostly use strength and some speed to defeat my opponents. I'll try to use ID create during this fight; in theory it should be useful. That is, if they do pick up the fight…

"You think you can tell us what to do, squirt?"

I twitch at the height insult, thankful to see that Yuuto has ended the call and is on his way. He'll probably stay behind until he sees that I need help… Or he'll be in a hurry and step in immediately.

"You think you're tough just cause you're the best in second grade. Well, let me teach you a lesson, you're just as pathetic as any other brat in this school."

The brats move closer, the 'leader' motioning for the others to surround me. I shift my gaze between them all as I keep still, not worried at all. The question is how Yuuto will help out this time…

"I thought it was my 'troublesome Mio' senses tingling!"

I can hear a voice coming from the roof say before any of them shift to attack, making all of us look up. I smile up at my cousin/brother, nodding to him in thanks. Well it'd be nice to show them their place but I'm always thankful when I don't have to get in trouble with the teachers. The four kids around me tense up, of course they would since he's the strongest in a year under the last one, and back away slightly from me. A 'goon' of the group smile nervously up at my cousin, holding up his hands slightly in surrender.

"A-Ah, Masago-san! We-... We were just talking, nothing to see here."

Yuuto tilts his head slightly, smiling way too brightly in his own way to show others how they're in some deep shit.

"'Talking' huh…? Mio, is that really it?"

He then turn to me, smile softening slightly as he meet my gaze. I instinctively straighten up, looking towards the kid they bullied earlier.

"They were verbally harassing that kid for not knowing Genjutsu yet. I stepped in to stop it and they were all prepared to gang up on me and 'teach me a lesson' to not be cocky."

I say the last part while looking at the leader. I can feel Yuuto's chakra shift as he use the body flicker to appear next to me, gently settling his hand on top of my head. It effectively makes me relax, a combination of his presence and his hand on my head. The kids around me flinch again as he appear in the middle with me and they slowly shift to gather in front of me with their 'leader'.

"Well, teaching my adorable cousin a lesson seems really nice of you! Would you mind it if I join too? I'm sure whatever you have to say is really informative~."

When I glance up at him I can see the wide way too happy smile still on his face aimed towards the four older kids. Well, older than me but younger than him. The bullies grumble angrily and shake their heads, aiming one last glare at their bully target before they stalk away from us.

Once they're gone however, a fist collide hard with the top of my head and making me fall to the ground with a cry. I hold onto my head as I glare up at Yuuto with tears in my eyes from the pain.

"Hey! What was that about!?"

"'What was that about'!?"

Yuuto repeat angrily, holding up his fist as a silent threat that he will hit me again if I don't behave with a fierce frown on his face.

"That's for sticking your nose into trouble again, idiot! How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of fights you know you can't fight!? You've called on me two times this week! And it's Wednesday!"

I stand up to shout back at him, ignoring the earlier bully victim as he shift away from us. I helped him like I wanted so I have no business with him anymore.

"It's not me who's bullying and pushing people down left and right! You know I don't stand for that shit! Besides, you don't have to come every time I call for you!"

He take a firm hold on the back of my shirt, starting to drag me towards the academy doors. I struggle slightly in his grip, reaching back to try and make him release me. But being so much stronger than me, I fail to accomplish that and I grumpily relax in his hold as I'm dragged off.

"I won't stand around when I know people are trying to hurt you, Mio. I know you're determined to try and make it better for everyone, but this isn't the right way to do it. You'll only make enemies when you're doing this. You _need_ to get better at getting comrades if you want to be the strongest."

"I will meet one after school today. I'll have her teach me chakra practice methods and I'll help work on her self confidence. So I _am_ trying but it's hard when every single punk in this school are so full of shit."

"Well, good to know that you're trying at least."

He says and I can almost hear him roll his eyes. He haul me up to my feet in front of the doors and lightly shove me towards it.

"Now get to your classroom before I have intervene in another one of the fights you end up starting."

I stick out my tongue at him before I turn around with a huff and stomp into the academy dramatically. I can hear Yuuto shout out an 'I love you' towards my retreating back and I reply the same way out of habit more than anything. There's just a little bit left of school, then I'll meet Sakyou at the school gates. I'll take her to a official training ground close to my clan compound, it's usually unoccupied since my clan is nearby so it seems like the best pick. I'm kinda looking forward to it; a little at least. Just so I can get to use a bit more chakra manipulation techniques. It might be fun; at least a little fun.

I also need to look into my SSP moves a bit more… From what I've noticed so far I unlock an ability from memory where it has been explained in the series how it works. I don't think they can evolve much seeing as how many anime I've seen in my previous life, but it'd be pretty neat if I could use the mind jutsu to enter someone's mind other than my own. I hope the abilities I can have are diverse in usage at least if they can't be evolved… Being immune to poison or fire would be useful if there are abilities like those, but if they stay as only 'immunity to specific element' I'm not sure if I'd want to unlock it.

I look down at my hand as I enter the classroom, frowning as I surround it with a soft glow of chakra. There are so many abilities I can remember clearly, like One punch man's single hit kill, Rin Okumura's Satan flame and many more. But because I remember them, I know those aren't the ones I want to unlock. If only I could get a quest or something where I could know which anime I can receive abilities from; there are too many to choose from…

 **Ding! You've received a quest!**

I blink as the notification pop up in front of me, the quest window appearing soon after. I start to grin, glancing up towards the sky as I send a silent 'thank you' to the Maker for answering my request. This is just what I need.

 **Unlock all SSP skills**

Use your mind jutsu to unlock all memories of available SSP skills you can acquire from different anime you've watched in your previous life.

 **Quest requirements:**

Unlock everything from Bleach

Unlock everything from Fairy Tail

Unlock everything from KHR

Unlock everything from My Hero Academia

Unlock everything from Naruto

Unlock everything from The Gamer

Unlock everything from Pokemon

Unlock everything from One Piece

Unlock everything from ?

Quest reward: scroll of 50 SSP

Quest failure: None

[Yes] [No]

I press yes, of course, and am very pleased to know this. Now I have a list of anime to focus on which will help me a lot, even if one of them is blanked out. I wonder which one that can be… They all seem to be anime so the last one must be an anime as well. I remember Yohio saying that he had most of his powers from cartoons, not anime like me. I might start with Bleach, I know it's kinda cool already. This will be interesting.

* * *

And that's the end of it! And a whoooole list of the anime she'll be ABLE to get powers from. This doesn't mean she'll be able to have all the powers in that universe, she will be restricted. Some powers have been chosen on which she'll use, one which will be her 'signature' power is also chosen, but I want your help on this. Because she has just too many options and I can't choose! So...

 **This chapter's question:** What anime power from the list do you think would suit Mio as a character the most? AND What anime should the ? be?

Please leave a review on your thoughts!

 **Review replies**

 **The-Funeral-Pyre:** The yamanaka power is mostly there to help her unlock further power ups she can acquire. It's limited, yes, and it won't evolve much, that's true, but it's mostly as a support for Mio than anything else. The SSP skills themselves won't evolve that much from their original power, but some evolution will happen as it levels up. Currently, Mio can only read her own mind with the jutsu, no one else's. She will have access to many more abilities that she can use that are as powerful as the one you mentioned.

Yes, all her abilities need her chakra to function except for 2 which I have already chosen for her to have. She can equip mutations, like the fruits from One piece, but these will also require chakra to be activated and not actually change her body permanently. Any SSP ability needs chakra to be activated and chakra to be sustained. So unless she finds a good way to conserve her chakra, she's going to have a hard time using the abilities she can unlock.

That's a very, very good idea! It'd certainly help her limited chakra problem. ^^

Yeah, I can see how luck would benefit her too. But I also need to think about it from Mio's perspective. She won't care much for luck, she just want to bust things out of her way to prove that she's right. I have plans for her regarding this point, and it shall be glorious.

 **Guest:** Uhm... Thank you...? I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted. I know I'm not the best regarding English, but I'm not that bad..? If anyone else pick up my concept, I'd be proud to know I came up with it, but saying that... It's not really nice you know? I'm not that bad. A story is supposed to have plot holes in the beginning to fill those up as the story continues. Of course the first chapter has many unanswered questions.

 **Cup:** Naaaw thank you! That's really nice of you to say. ^^ As you see, Bleach was already planned to be included. Your wish for Rukia power might just come true~.

Oh, ok. I've shortened it down a bit and hopefully gotten rid off the unimportant parts. Thanks for pointing it out!

 **Kwood101:** Oooh I love sun bears. Scorpions would be cool too! I hope you get satisfied by the summoning choice once it's shown in the story. X3


	8. Six years old

Hey! Another chapter edited and ready for posting.

Thank you so much to everyone reviewing! It's helping me a lot with steering the story along.

This will be the start of less time skips, a few chapters at a time for her age. There will still be time skips, which I'm planning to have through the entire story, but there will be less and less time that's passed by between the skips starting now. I hope you're all enjoying my story and concept. Review answers are at the bottom of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the naruto series, only my characters.

* * *

 _Sentences in this text_ means flashback of past life

Six years

The tension is slowly rising in the village; I can feel it. With how long ago since the last rainfall, people are getting worried now when they see clouds gathering in the sky. It's been building up by a lot in only a few minutes and everyone are hurrying back towards their homes or safety houses. In a worst case scenario everyone have to evacuate to the Kazekage tower, the largest and sturdiest building in the whole village, but I hope it doesn't come to that.

The school has instructed us on what we should do on a day like this but Yuuto told me we'd be safer at home. I've yet to experience a devastating rainfall, the last rain was over a year ago and it only made the streets into small rivers like it usually does. But since we've gone by over a year without any kind of rain, not even a two day rain period like I'm used to, this one might be bad. Especially with the bowl shape of our village... _Thunder roaring overhead as I read, enjoying the sound of rain falling against the glass. I like the storms._

Me and Yuuto are running side by side from the academy towards our compound, both of us quiet due to the tense atmosphere looming over the whole village and dark clouds looming over us all. It doesn't take long until we reach our destination and open the gates, a loud boom of thunder bursting forth above us from the dark clouds. I find myself relaxing a little at the sight of my family gathered in the courtyard, some waiting for everyone to arrive and some mixing some sort of clay-like thing in multiple buckets. I stick close to Yuuto as we approach, looking around a little uneasy since people I rarely meet have also gathered here. There's a lot of people here….

The majority of them are people I've seen when I've exited the compound, people who live around us and can be called neighbors. Then there's Aiko's boyfriend, Kai, with Aiko's genin team that she's picked up now when she's 20. The older children are huddled close to their teacher… Then there's also Sho and Setsuko's third teammate but their teacher isn't here. Yohio and his genin team are also all here without teacher along with Sasori, who I'm relieved to see is safe, as well as a few other people I've met briefly. Why are everyone gathered here….?

"Taro-sama. How bad will it be…?"

Yuuto asks once we've gotten closer to the group, a frown on his face. Taro, who was giving instructions to an older child, turns towards us once Yuuto speaks up, smiling in relief. Is this what they always do whenever a serious rainstorm will occur? It makes me a little worried…

"Yuuto-kun, Mio. Glad you could make it. This is going to be a really bad one…"

Taro says, looking up towards the dark grey clouds looming over the village. His usually bright and cheerful neon green eyes are dark and serious as he's looking up at the thundering clouds. I rarely see our clan leader like this; the last time I saw that kind of serious gaze was when he scolded me for getting seriously hurt in school for wanting to protect a random kid from bullying. It's scary… Yet comforting to know he's got everything under control.

"I might need my fortress to hold off the worst of it. But we should have enough food for everyone for a week if we ration it well enough."

"That bad…?"

I can't help but speak up, stepping up beside Yuuto as I look around at all the different people gathered here. I've never seen this many people gathered in the compound before… Not even when we had a parts of our wall broken off by rainfall and genin teams came to repair it. Three genin teams.

"And so many people… Where are all of these coming from..?"

Taro walks over to me and lightly places a hand on top of my head, smiling widely in reassurance with his eyes still dark and sharp due to the current situation. I glance up at my uncle, still feeling very nervous over the upcoming storm. I can't feel my father anywhere... My mother is down in the large basement.

"It's going to be ok Mio. Due to my expertise in healing and barriers our clan compound is a form of safe room in case of a large storm, for anyone who don't have enough time to get to the kazekage tower. As you can see, most people here are elderly or children. This isn't the first time this has happened. I'll make sure everyone are alright."

I look around as he says this, that's true; I didn't actually think about it… And now when I focus on it, all the ninja parents are gone except for Taro. Maybe they're out in the village helping with evacuation; it'd make sense. There are still elderly and children elsewhere in the village who don't have this kind of safe room close by and need to reach the kazekage tower. I look up to Taro once more, a slight uneasy frown on my face before I nod. I trust my family with my life, Taro wouldn't lie when he says it'll be ok.

Taro then steps away from us to approach an elderly couple who just entered through the gate, guiding them further into the compound as the others continue to prepare. I stand stupidly in the middle of the training field with Yuuto, looking around to try and find something I can help with. When I can feel the first drop of water hit my head, I look up at the sky with wide eyes. The clouds are pitch black, the sky rumbling with thunder as it's preparing to let out it's enormous load. Yuuto nudges me in the side, making me flinch in surprise at the action and look up at my cousin in confusion. Should I have brought the mouse with me too…? That Kurisu girl better be alright during the storm…

"Save, Mio. Just as a precaution…"

I nod slightly and mumble 'pause' to enter my main menu. I hastily press the 'save game' button inside the white space, looking over the four save files I have. One save file has shifted into an automatic save space, that saves my progress every time I sleep. I've tried to sleep a little more after Yohio encouraged me to, but it's still difficult… The other three are save files I've overwritten on my own, one then I was 4 and had my first real fight against multiple opponents. Which is also when I got seriously injured and got a serious and long scolding from Taro about my health and abusing saving files; not that it changed anything, I just continue to protect others and get in trouble. But I have stopped using my saves for such things, so it's something. Those who can't protect themselves need someone strong, like me, to do it for them. I don't care if I'm hurt in the process, as long as I serve as some kind of distraction for the weak one to leave I don't care what happens to me.

The second one is when I was 5 and had a competition with my class on who could hold the 'paper sticking technique' the longest, I won that one. And the last one about two months ago when I had a eating contest with Sho just so we could go back in time and save ourselves from the tummy ache. Good times, good times. I ended up losing that eating game though, but I'll make sure to win the next one. Apparently if we hadn't used our save to go back in time I'd have gotten a 'gluttony' skill… But I don't care too much about something like that.

I overwrite the save where I was 4 years old before I go back to the main menu again. I glance hesitantly at the unlocked 'shop' button, glowing in the normal menu red like all the other buttons are. I still haven't looked over it... But I still don't have any money so I shouldn't look through it yet; it'd make more sense to browse once I can buy something in there.

I exit the main menu and blink a few times as I return to reality, noticing that the people around me are running around the compound with a sure purpose in mind. It's drizzling lightly now, already soaking through my thin clothes as I look around in confusion. Yuuto isn't next to me anymore, he's joined in on spreading the clay-like substance on the houses. What the hell should I do….?

Still very uncertain on where I should go, I search for Sasori's fierce but calm chakra signature, moving through the crown towards him. Everyone in my family are helping out, but without knowing what I can do to help it's better if I get out of the way…. _Accidents happen frequently around here. I just walk by the yellow police tape without looking at the situation, something like that won't happen to me._

As I reach Sasori, he and many others who have come to our clan compound are standing underneath a large overhead roof structure we have against the right side of the compound wall right in front of the training ground we have in the middle of everything. Since the roof is right in front of where we all gathered, it doesn't take me long to reach him. He offer me a small nod when I step under the roof beside him to which I nod and smile slightly in return.

I look out over the compound, watching as people are moving from place to place to secure all the houses with that clay substance they were mixing before, to prevent the houses from getting any kind of water inside of it. I wonder where we will all gather and wait out the storm if we are not going to be inside the houses… The basement is the only other place I can think of, but that feels kind of stupid with it being a rainstorm and water gathering on the ground. One mishap on the opening and everything can flood in… I glance up at Sasori, the puppet master watching my family work with a blank look on his face.

"Sasori? Where are we gonna stay while the rainstorm is raging? They're securing all houses from the outside but being in the basement seems kind of stupid..."

The red head glances down at me with an eyebrow slightly raised in surprise, as if I should know everything about what happens around my clan. I just frown, crossing my arms stubbornly and wait for my answer. I can't know everything all the time.

"There's a tunnel leading to Taro-sama's house from the basement. They secure all houses from the outside, since it's easier, before we all go down to the tunnel. We'll then stay in Taro-sama's house while the storm continues."

I nod slowly after Sasori's explanation, looking out at the rain again. I'm a little surprised Sasori hasn't gotten irritated yet, he doesn't like to be kept waiting like this.. But that makes a lot more sense, I didn't know Taro had a secret tunnel down there.

"I didn't know that… You've experienced this kind of storm before?"

"Yes. It's also when I first met Yohio."

I nod once more and smile wider. I can kinda imagine that scenario without him telling me. A younger Sasori running down the streets, maybe looking for someone he knows to go to a shelter. Then Yohio is running in his direction and drag the puppeteer with him towards the clan compound for safety. I'd probably do the same if I saw a character I recognized… It'd be obvious that you'd want to get to know them. If I ever meet Yagura in this world, I'd want to be friends with him just so I get to know more about that ruthless jinjuriki.

Once everything is secured, everyone who were hiding from the rain moves towards the basement opening that my mother is guiding us towards. Puddles are already gathering on the ground around us and every step we take make mud splash up on our legs and seep water into our poorly protected sandals. Once everyone are gathered in the cellar, the majority shivering from the cold rain and equally cold cellar, Taro makes sure to properly seal the entrance with an earth jutsu covering it. Then we are all led in an orderly fashion through a secret tunnel I never knew existed in the basement, which have us emerge from the floor of Taro's living room.

I decide to help everyone with exiting the passage that need help, my mother and aunt Emi, Taro's wife, help with giving out blankets for everyone. Taro is the last one to exit the tunnel and he close the hatch behind himself and lock it. I don't hesitate to approach a nearby window, watching the storm in fascination as it's just getting worse and worse. It's raining even more now than it did before and I'm barely able to see past our compound due to the thick curtain of falling water. It's amazing in my opinion… A little unnerving but still amazing. And since I'm safe in here I can just stare at the storm without any kind of worry.

I flinch when a blanket is draped around my shoulders, turning around quickly and immediately relax when I meet my mother's beautiful brown eyes. I smile gently at her, pulling the blanket around me with a thankful nod. I was too distracted by the storm to notice her presence, I should get better at that…

"Thanks mom… This is my first big storm."

"Yes, it is. But there's nothing to worry about."

She says softly, looking out at the storm with her hands gently settling on my shoulders. I turn back to look outside, mesmerized by the violent rain and echoes of thunder raging across the sky. It's raining a lot more than it usually does during the usual desert rain we get once a year, which is a given seeing as we've gotten a two year drought.

"Your father is safe… He just called me and said the last villager was brought to safety and he'll stay in the Kazekage tower. He's there to help with rations along with your aunts."

A tightness I didn't even realize were in my shoulders relax when I hear this, my smile growing wider as I lean back into my mother's embrace. She knows just what to say before I even realize I was worried about it… She has a heart of gold.

"Mnhm… I never doubted he'd be ok. Thanks, mom. Why weren't my grandparents outside?"

Now that I'm actively looking for them, I can sense them on the second floor of Taros house, have they been there the whole time? They may be old, but they're still very strong and agile for their age, they could've helped out.

"Anytime my cherry."

Mother starts to gently comb through my wet hair with her hand, making me relax even further by the calming motion. She gently kisses the top of my head before she answers my question.

"And even if they are Masago, they are still old, Mio. They can't stay out in the rain for too long and help out, but they did help beforehand in arranging the food and unlocking the cellar tunnel. Jiro-san always prefer to stay away from the large crowd when a storm like this comes and your grandparents decided to join him today."

"Hmm…"

I nod and frown slightly at that, pulling the blanket tighter around me. Truth be told, I barely know anything about the older generation of my family. I know some about my aunts and uncles but I don't know anything about my grandparents. And even less about Shiro-sama on what he could do and how he was as a person. I should try and connect with the elder side of my family I suppose… Sometime and somehow. I have no idea what kind of abilities they have either, maybe I should try a little harder to connect with them and not only focus on my cousins…

"Also, Mio. Taro had a thought, while we wait for the rain to stop, which might take a few days, you and your cousins could use your alternate dimension to train. You unlocked a monster part yesterday didn't you?"

I look up at mom in surprise, blinking as my line of thought is broken by her statement and my eyes widen slightly. I know that Taro would talk to the council about my power; how it could be used for the village and who would be allowed to use it. I didn't know they'd come to a decision yet, why wasn't I the first one to know about this?

"Wait, so the council have accepted it? But I thought that it'd take a while longer."

"Taro has kept the reply secret until you unlocked the monsters, dear. He didn't want you to push yourself too hard."

Mother says, grinning down at me. My chakra starts buzzing loud and happy at the pure adoration in her eyes and I'm not able to suppress the happy blush on my cheeks. Mother never scolds me for my rash behavior like my aunts and cousins do, she and my father just love me for who I am; they love me for my determination to help others. I think it's part of their 'proud parent' title or whatever it was called, but I don't care why they are so warm towards me. I just adore their love and attention.

"But yes, the village has allowed it as a form of training and income. If it is what you've described, it might even become a source of trading goods. But it's only those having ties to the clan who will have any permission to use it, so only those who Taro introduce to you. Anyone else who just approach you on the street when the information reach the public, you can just ignore."

I nod at this, a wide grin spreading over my face. I can _finally_ be useful to the whole village in some kind of way. I knew that it'd be a good thing to practice using ID create randomly when I got bored, it's leveled it up more than enough. I have also used it to get away from unwanted situations but that's beside the point. So that means any ninja present here, those who have ties to the clan, can use it. It'll be a great way to pass time during this storm for everyone. And add leveling up and training onto that and it's a win-win for everyone.

"Awesome! Then I'll ask Taro if I can enter it with the others today. Class got dismissed right before ninja training and I could use some work out."

Mother laughs lightly, nodding as she leans down to kiss my forehead. The happy buzz in my chest grows stronger when she does this and I force down a giggle that want to bubble out from me. My parents always do wonders for my mood.

"Sounds good, Mio~. But remember that you still have to come back for dinner."

"I will."

I tell her, leaning up to kiss her cheek before I slink out of her grip. I immediately zone in on Yohio with my chakra sense, soon seeing him talking with his teammates with a very uneasy look on his face. That's right, he's scared of storms… Well, I guess it's good that it happens so rarely in Suna. With the blanket still around my shoulders, I nudge Yohio with my soggy sandal and smirk widely at him when he looks at me with a slight glare. This will be the first time I enter the Zombie ID. _Blood is rushing to my head when I slam my metal rod as hard into the rusty car as I can._

"Hey, hey. Taro-sama gave me the green light for monsters. Wanna help me gather everyone up so we can test it out together?"

This immediately get Yohio's attention, brightening up with a wide grin spreading over his face. But it's soon wiped away when he flinches at another boom of thunder ringing out through the sky. He looks uneasy once more, but still hopeful when he smile slightly at me.

"S-Seriously? When did you get approval? Why didn't you tell me you got it?"

"I am now, idiot."

I let out an amused huff, knowing what Yohio is going through and ignoring it as a way to help him calm down. As long as I don't make a big deal out of it, I'm sure it'll help my cousin. I remove my blanket from my shoulders and completely ignore the confused glances I receive from Yohio's teammates. They can think whatever they want until we get Taro's official approval. While I talk to Yohio, I start to fold the blanket into a somewhat neat pile, someone else can have it while we're gone.

"I got it leveled enough yesterday and mom told me a few seconds ago that it got approved. Without Taro actually _telling_ me about it. Now are you going to sit there and gawk at my amazing self or are you going to help me gather the rest of the brats?"

I toss the recently folded blanket over Yohio with a wide smirk, making him sputter at being caught off guard and hastily remove it from his face. I'd have never caught him off guard with that if he wasn't so uneasy over the storm. Once he placed the blanket in his female teammate's lap he stands up and flicks me in the forehead like I usually do to him, telling me how I'm not so amazing before he walks off towards Aiko and her team. I give a polite nod to Yohio's teammates, to hide how irritated I am over their confused stares, and then set off towards Yuuto and the twins. The two teams are talking with each other and helping one another stay calm during the thunder and rain raging above us.

Only gather those directly connected to me and my cousins, no one else. After telling Sho, Setsuko and Yuuto about the monsters getting the green light, they all get as excited as Yohio did and follows me to where Taro is. The twins teammate follow as well, curious over what is happening. Taro is sitting in the dining room, overlooking a few papers as a clan head, probably rations we have in the cellar or council work, when we all approach him. I can feel Yohio not too far behind so I'm guessing he's gathered everyone else along. I lean against the table in front of Taro, lightly knocking on the wood to get his attention.

"Who's there?"

He says amused, still looking at his papers. I blink slightly at his response, taken off guard by it and it takes me a few seconds to register it. A knock knock joke… I straighten up, placing my hands on my hips.

"Narito"

I say after a few seconds of thinking. It's hard to do a knock knock joke in japanese…

"Narito who?"

He ask back, Taro looking up from his papers to smile widely at me. I gesture to the people gathering behind me with a wider grin.

"Everyone*. We wanna use my monster hunt!" (*Darenarito is another unusual way to say 'everyone' and 'who' is dare. So Taro said 'Narito Dare' which Mio then used as 'Darenarito' in the joint word.)

Taro let out a surprised laugh as I gesture to the people behind me, leaning back in his chair as he look over those who have gathered in the dining room, all children who have some sort of tie to my cousins and me. Taro looks highly amused as he glance over everyone that's in the room.

"Hanami told you already? Well you really have no patience. But I can't let you have this many join at once; it's too many. Bring only family the first time around, alright? _Then_ we can talk about who gets to use it."

"But Tarooooo. It'd be fun to get away from the gloomy rain."

I whine playfully, crossing my arms with a fake pout. I'm sure that if any of my classmates saw me now, they'd think I've gotten crazy. My family is really doing wonders for my temper whenever I'm around them… with so many family members my chakra has a constant happy buzz to it. It's hard to get angry when your chakra is happy. Besides, I enjoy this kind of playful side of myself. I just wish people didn't constantly annoy me to let me be happy more. I don't really like human nature in general is what I've realized…

"Can at least Sasori join?"

"Sure, he does have medical knowledge and it might be needed. Just return before dinner."

I cheer silently when Sasori get to join, moving to hug Yuuto tightly around his neck and loudly declare he'll be coming with me whether he like it or not. He just accept it like the good bro he is with a light pat to my head. Then comes the process of deciding who else will join, Yohio and Sasori being obvious choices. Yohio's teammates and Aiko's genin team wanted to argue in coming too but was shut down when Aiko reminded them it was a family business. Sho and Setsuko decided to sit out on this one, rather staying with their teammate to keep them calm during the storm. And with a promise from Kai to take care of her genin Aiko decide to come as well just to keep an eye on us all. Not that we'd need someone to keep an eye on us, really. We're all strong!

So in the end everyone but me, Yuuto, Yohio, Sasori and Aiko exited the dining room and went back to the living room. Two puppet masters, one weapon expert, one really fast twin tanto user and one free-for-all. A bit overpowered combination… but I'm not complaining. I look to Taro and salute playfully towards him, the excited feeling of my chakra spreading through my whole being. This is going to be so much fun~.

"We're all set to go, Taro-sama~. What time should we get back?"

"16.30 and not a minute later. Which is in 3 hours. Make sure to give me a full report on how it all works later. Good luck."

He says the last part towards Aiko, nodding towards her with a slight smile. Aiko nod back, a almost feral grin on her face as she show him a determined thumbs up in return.

"Alright, everyone place a hand on me!"

I call out excitedly, rubbing my hands together with an excited gleam in my eyes. This is going to be so much fun~. I hope we can have this be a regular thing to pass time during the storm, that'd be so awesome! Everyone do as I say, hands placed on my arms and shoulders. I nod slightly and stretch my hand up towards the sky, gathering my chakra in it and neutralizing it. I can feel a few kids stand by the doorway and look towards us curiously. Three hours here means about 6 hours there since time goes 2 times slower. Or I think time goes slower in there like my empty ID. But three hours will be more than enough time on its own…

"ID Create: Zombie."

I say clearly, my chakra expanding around us with a low sounding 'dooom' as it creates invisible walls around us. It hasn't done that before… As the normal world around us disappear, our surroundings shift slowly into the world full of zombies. Everything looks more worn down, claw marks scattered on the furniture with dirt and dust covering the house surface. I slowly lower my arm as I look around, everyone including me tense up as our surroundings is shifted from safe to dangerous. It's almost as if there's been monsters here fighting a long time ago…

"What-... What is this place…?"

Sasori ask uneasily, taking a step away from our group as he look around. That seems to break the 'surprised' spell hanging over the group and I straighten up when the others remove their hands from me. It's time for an explanation to the only one who doesn't know of my ability. How to explain without making him confused or weirded out by my ability...

"This is an alternate dimension. I can create an opening into these dimensions with my chakra and bring people who are touching me with me. It's an ability I've created myself through a lot of practice."

I walk forward to gently touch a claw mark on the wall, frowning as I can feel the foul chakra drifting in the air. It's… strange. The chakra in the air feels artificial, as if it's trying to replicate the feeling of normal nature chakra without actually being nature chakra. It's unnerving… I turn to look at Sasori, feeling a small sense of pride that I have his attention. He seems impressed and interested.

"In this dimension, a fatal disease broke out through the land and made everyone a living dead through a jutsu gone wrong. This is what I call a 'monster dimension'. Thanks to me and my family's Kekkei Genkai, these monsters will be different from an normal human. Once defeated the monsters would burst into 'smoke' or dissolve to leave trinkets behind. It's like being in a game."

I smile widely at Aiko, the older woman nodding in approval at my explanation. I don't want to leave Sasori out of the loop so I used an 'official' version to describe this world. At least something I came up with on the fly right here. Taro said something to Aiko about a report so I'm guessing she'll tell Taro about this story too.

"So since we're still in the dining room, anywhere in this dimension would be a perfect reflection to the real world we live in."

Yohio says softly, nodding his head. He remember how it is in my empty ID and it's the same in essence. Yohio slowly make his way towards the living room, taking care to silence his footsteps to not stir up any dust or make any sound. The rest of us follow him, with my footsteps being a little louder and more disruptive of our surroundings since I haven't learned 'cat foot' yet, and I can see the front door wide open as if something busted it open with force. I twitch when I start to feel chakra signatures around us outside along with a foul smell of rot. Aiko place a hand on Yohio's shoulder before I do, her eyes narrowed on the doorway.

"Let's exit through the roof to have higher ground. Mio, are there enemies outside?"

I nod slightly to Aiko's question, glancing at the others. I'm just as nervous as I'm excited over this, it's a first time doing this and I have no idea what to expect… Out of all of us, only I am mostly focused on sensing the presence of chakra. I recently leveled up my chakra sense, so...

"Yes, there are 5 signatures walking through the compound. They all have different level of strength…"

I'm still giving a report to what I can sense as I follow Aiko and Yohio up to the second floor. To finally be able to beat monsters, to gain more EXP and money, I'm looking forward to it; a lot. I can finally go all out and not worry about someone whining to me about it later. This will be fun, I'm sure of it.

"It seems like they're moving slowly."

I continue, looking towards the wall as I try to get a feel for their movements. I can feel them looking at me, but I ignore it in favor of concentrating on their chakra.

"The closest has step… drag… step… probably a leg injury. The ones closer to the gates seem stronger than the ones towards the houses but I don't know in what way… The chakra in the air seems to almost cling to them like a second skin, I don't know what to think of that either. Perhaps it's some type of shield."

"You've gotten better, didn't know you could sense _that_ much."

Yuuto praise me from behind me, making me twitch and look back towards him with a slight frown. Well, my chakra sensing is at level 26 cause I use it often when I'm bored. And I mean very, very often… The level 25 bonus was a clearer sense in chakra level, chakra movement and density in nature chakra. So it's kinda new for me too…

"Should I take that as doubting my ability to improve or should I take it as a compliment? Because the first would earn you a fist to the face."

I know Yuuto meant it as pure praise since he never got the patience to just 'sit down and feel the air' like I do. None have really focused on chakra sense among us kids, which I'm really surprised about. It's so useful after all. Yuuto laugh, seeing through my fake irritation and hold up his hands with a grin.

"Praise, praise. Take it as praise, cherry."

"How long have you been able to sense chakra that well Mio?"

I stop my slight bickering with Yuuto when Sasori speak up behind him and look over to the red head. I'd hate to admit it, but my voice kinda get stuck in my throat when I see his grey eyes. They're… Is that affection? Or pride? Is he proud of me!? Proud of my abilities!? What the hell should I-!? My inner thoughts are cut off when I suddenly step on thin air, stumbling under my lack of footing with a sharp intake of breath. I struggle to regain my balance, quickly stumbling forward along the floor and try to ignore the snickers from my cousins. Traitors… I didn't know the stairs were going to end right there!

I'm _not_ blushing deep red like the cherry I'm so fondly nicknamed as when I turn around to face the group. I cough lightly in my hand, eyes closed to try and dissuade the embarrassing scene I just created. That's just mortifying… A ninja… _stumbling_ … Over some _lack of stairs_. That has to be the most embarrassing thing I've done in this life as of yet… _Fall over a chair and drop my heavy engineering book on the top of my head, it's just worse when everyone snicker at me…_

"Well… I've been able to sense chakra as long as I can remember… I've gotten really good at it."

"Ah, don't be modest, you're the best in our family after my mom. No one else have the patience to deal with that boring shit."

Aiko says calmly and I can hear her footsteps walking away from the group. I open my eyes just in time to see Aiko open a window and look back towards the rest of us.

"Now, even if I'd love to continue this chit chat, we're supposed to explore this world yeah?"

The others nod and I walk back to my cousins and Sasori once more. Yohio affectionately ruffle my hair before he walk towards the window Aiko just exited through. I hadn't ever thought about what level the others have their chakra sensing at… I'm just so used to feeling the chakra around me as a way to keep myself calm that I never considered it to be boring to others. I should ask what level they have in chakra sense later… And ask Chiyoko about it as well. And my grandparents… Wow, I should really talk to more people, I'm just too busy with myself to think about it.

Once I step outside after Yuuto before Sasori, I notice that there's no wind in here just like in the empty ID. the second thing I notice is how the moon is full and high up in the air, shining brightly down on the streets and is the only source of light in this world. The third thing I notice are the sounds of hungry moaning and dragging feet across the sand, soon followed by a disgusting smell of rot. The same smell we felt down by the front door only a little stronger.

"Ew, if I'd known it'd be this disgusting I would've second guessed my decision on coming…"

Yuuto mumbles beside me, pinching together his nostrils with his fingers. I only frown at the smell, managing to ignore it as I finally get a visual representation of those I sensed before. I, along with my cousins, mumble 'observe' on the five visual targets down below. I bet Sasori is looking at us weirdly since we didn't even try to hide it, but I don't really care right now.

They are all zombies, of course, and all of them have a grey skin tone with various lethal injuries. The level 2 zombie closest to Taro's home is dragging their broken foot behind them and a huge open wound in the middle of their chest where their heart should be. There are two Level 3 zombies a little further away, both sitting against a wall each on opposite sides of the road, easy targets while they're sitting down. The two zombies by the gates are level 5 though, clearly stronger than the other three and even have weapons on them. I then notice their eyes. Completely white; completely void…. They're dead, gone, never to come back… Dead light…

 _It's lifeless, dead, so terrifyingly void of life. That empty gaze continue to haunt me as I see the light, soon fading from the world yet desperate to hold on. Then, everything is black, a pure black void, but even in the void I can see those once beautiful bright eyes devoid of any light. Dead light…_

"Mio."

I can hear someone say firmly and I quickly snap out of my inner panic to turn towards them. I flinch when I see Sasori frown down at me and I can't help but shrink slightly under his gaze. I can't see what he's thinking, too focused on controlling my emotions. Just don't tremble, don't think about it.

"Don't freeze up… They look terrible, yes, but there's no reason to fear mindless monsters."

I swallow when he says this, nodding slightly as I start to fiddle with my thumb as some sort of distraction. I force a small smile on my face, doing my best to push the memory of those eyes to the back of my mind. Don't think about the eyes… I never realized I might face this kind of difficulty with Zombies.

"Y-Yeah... I'm ok; I'll be ok. T-Thanks, Sasori…"

I nod slightly to him, ignoring the worried gazes I can feel on me as I look down at the monsters below. I-... This is my world; I need to be able to do this. I can't freeze up… Maybe- Maybe this will help me get better in more than one way.

"... I'm going for the limp legged one. I'm the weakest out of us all and if I go against the weakest we could gauge their abilities accordingly. If I have difficulty with a level 2 then that might say what kind of challenge we have ahead of us…"

"You sure?"

Yohio asks me and I immediately silence him with a fierce glare. We will NOT talk about that kind of thing here. Not when Sasori is here… I need to be strong. I need to show everyone that I can do this, I need to prove it to _myself_. I can't run from war and I can't run from death. The best way to deal with it is to meet it head on and beat it into the ground.

I look to Aiko, holding out a hand silently. I want a weapon. She look into my eyes, holding it for a few seconds before she sigh heavily. I can see her pull a bo staff out of her inventory, tossing it over towards me so I can catch it.

"Stubborn brat… Fine, beat your problems. But if you get so much as a scratch, we're coming to help you, understand? It's still a virus and we have no idea how their wounds will affect us."

I nod slightly to her, smiling widely at her as a silent thank you. I need to do this… Without giving myself any more time to think, I jump down from the roof with my eyes set on my limping target. Long hair, woman, around 18 years old. Weakness on her left leg and neck bent in a strange angle. Once those small observations are done, I run towards the back of my opponent with my bo staff raised into the air. The zombie only have enough time to slowly turn her head before my staff collide right into her face and send the zombie flying towards the house wall head first. It collides with the wall and then sink down into a heap on the ground and I can suddenly see something I haven't been able to see on anyone else before when I've attacked them…

 **Severe Critical! -227 HP!**

I blink and stare wide eyed at the screen for a few seconds and then quickly turn back to the zombie that's slowly getting up. I can actually see a health bar above it… In here it's really like a game. This is the first time I'm seeing it. The zombie has just a bit below half its health left and from what I remember by my earlier observation it has 350 HP. So only one hit away from death. The monster's breaths are ragged and filled with liquid as it slowly bring up it's head to gaze at me with those dead void eyes…

I twitch, a rush of fear running through me as I remember those void eyes from my past life. Instead of locking me up like it did on the roof, I _move_. I have to get those eyes away from me. I can't see them, I can't look at them! My bo staff collide hard with its head once more and the zombie let out a loud groan. I'm quick to follow my first jab with a second against its abonem, my eyes not really focusing on anything specific.

 **Severe Critical! -227 HP! -59 HP! You gain 16 EXP!**

As the zombie is sagging over my weapon, I can see it slowly fade away into black smoke. I'm panting softly and trembling from my earlier memories, staring hard into the wall in front of me as I try to regain my grip on reality. They're gone… I destroyed those eyes. I hear a soft 'klirr' sound as if money grinding against one another and I blink a few times more. I'm safe… They're gone. I turn around when I hear people land behind me but I keep my gaze aimed towards the ground. Have to give my report…

"Their weak point is the head… If we manage to hit that there should be no complications."

I flinch at how detached my voice sounds, frowning in frustration as my grip harden around the bo staff I'm holding. Why is this so _difficult_ for me? They're-... They're just monsters. Created by my power for the purpose of being destroyed. I force myself to look up and meet their gazes, only Yuuto is betraying his worry for me… And seeing how worried my cousin is makes me even more angry over my pathetic state of mind. I need to get over this and soon… I can't continue like this.

"They're slow and dumb so they shouldn't be too much of a problem, just aim for the head and it should be fine."

And now I'm repeating myself…

Yohio walk forward and flick me hard into my forehead, making me flinch back and press a hand over the now sore spot. I glare at my cousin, about to ask him what his problem is when he interrupt me.

"Stop it."

This makes me pause, blinking up at Yohio with my eyes widening. Stop…? Stop what…? My thoughts have barely caught up with me when Yohio continues, my eyes glued onto him. He has this air of authority around him; I can't explain it…

"Stop pretending that you're strong. Anyone can see that you're not ok with this. Leave the rest of exploring this world to us and just observe."

"W-What!?"

I shout out in surprise, eyes narrowing on him as I take a small step closer. He really think I can't handle this? I can! I need to! I can't let something like this bring me down; I need to be stronger!

"No way! This is _my_ creation! I can't just let you do all the work! I need to do this too, I can't just-!"

"You can and you will."

Yohio effectively silences me, his purple eyes dangerously narrowed on me. I flinch at his harsh tone, instinctively shrinking to try an make myself smaller; less important.

"You need time to process this, you hate death. So be a good girl and sit down or I'll tie you to a rock until you've given yourself enough time to _think_. Stop pushing away your problems, Mio…"

I look down at the ground to avoid his gaze, struggling to keep myself standing. I can faintly hear the others engage in battle a little further away but I can't focus on that. Focus on my heartbeat; focus on my chakra. I'm ok… I'm ok…

"I-... I can't-. I have to be stronger, I can't just do _nothing_. I need to learn… I need to be able to handle it; I _need_ this Yohio, I can't stop now."

"I'm not telling you to stop, I'm telling you to pause."

I can feel Yohio gently settle his hands on my shoulders, making me look up at him and meet his neon purple gaze. His eyes are warm now, a lot warmer than they were before. I never thought that he could show such authority. He's really suited to being the clan leader. Unlike me…

"You've never given yourself a break, always working on something new. Always pushing yourself harder and harder just to get stronger. It's admirable but now it's just downright stupid, you keep on hurting yourself physically and mentally. Take these hours as a break, ok…? No meditation, no unlocking memories, just take this time to evaluate yourself. Take this time to let your thoughts flow down onto paths you don't normally let them go. Take this time to reevaluate your priorities and let your emotions out."

"W-What if I can't…?"

I ask meekly, doing my best to force down the tears that want to emerge due to the sincerity in his words. I can't break now, not when I've come so far. I can't be weak; I can't show weakness… They'll all just use it against me, everyone in the village will just see me as a failure. My family will see me as a failure. I need to be strong, I need to be stronger. I can't let myself break here just because I killed a monster with dead light eyes… I can't. I need to keep going.

"I only want you to try, Mio. Just remember, no matter what, your family will always stand by your side. Even if we seem to be against you, we only do it to try and protect you."

He then leans down to lightly press a kiss against my forehead. I flinch at the contact, watching Yohio with a mix of emotions welling up inside me when he pull away with such a sincere smile. What did I ever do to deserve this…? To deserve such a kind hearted family. _I want to make them proud of me, proud of who I am. They are worried for me, but I want to show them that I'll be ok no matter the hardships I face._ Why won't they let me be strong? I don't want to be weak, I don't want to disappoint them or make them worry. Or am I just repeating my past mistakes…?

I hadn't even noticed that the rest of the group have engaged in combat with the two level 5 zombies and Yohio run up to Sasori to join in his puppet battle. The two puppet users have great teamwork, knowing what the other's puppets have as hidden weapons and working around it accordingly. I clutch onto my borrowed bo staff, watching them fight as conflicting emotions continue to well up inside me. Take this time to think he said… I can't waste that much time on only thinking. I- what is it that he want me to do?

Feeling a bit lost, I lean back against the house wall while I watch them fight. They cut the zombies apart, making them lose HP but they reform as if the cut never happened when they still have HP left. They're quickly dealt with though, since they are my powerful cousins, and Yuuto spare a glance towards me before the four of them move on outside of the compound. Now with nothing to focus on, I'm left with a feeling of emptiness… I can hear my heart beat, I can feel the others chakra as they move and engage with more enemies, but I don't have anything to _focus_ on. I have no clear distraction.

I'm starting to panic slightly when my thoughts start to wander, something that Yohio wanted me to do. I try to think of a distraction and remembering how I'm almost finished looking through Bleach bring me some sort of relief. But I can't start… just the thought of distracting myself makes me remember Yohio's words, to let my thoughts wander. Now it sounds more like an order, an order I can't refuse. I can't help the small whimper from escaping me, struggling with myself. I don't want to be weak; I CAN'T be weak… they'll just use it- use my weak moment against me…

But there's no one here….

And with that thought, I let myself break down crying. I'm not sure over what though. For the loss of my last life, for the loss of my last life's friends, for the loss of my strength, for the loss of my last family, for the loss of my childhood, for the loss of my naive view of the world, for the loss of my positivity, for the fear of my future, for the fear of killing, for the fear of facing death. Maybe it's all of them… maybe it's none of them… But I continue to pray that no one sees me when I'm this vulnerable; I don't need someone to rescue me. I just need time...

* * *

Her first reality check! This has been a long time coming. XD She'll still require a few more before she'll make any kind of improvement to her personality but it's slowly getting there. Slowly but surely.

 **This chapter's question:** Should the last anime where she can acquire powers from be either Overlord, Log horizon, Tokyo ghoul, Fullmetal alchemist or Slayers?

Please leave a review on your thoughts!

 **Review replies**

 **Jotitoboy:** Thank you for reading! And yuss, I'll write that up on the list. Sun flames are really useful.

 **bei1wolf3:** Ah yes, thank you for pointing that out. I fixed it up as soon as I saw your review. It's not that she'll unlock everything with SSP points, but unlock the memory of that power so she'd be ABLE to use them. So those 50 SSP would help her to get the strongest power from any of those series she can receive powers from so it'd help her a lot.

 **hiareportsyou:** Thank you for sharing your thoughts. And you're absolutely right, she hates people weaker than her and hates people stronger than her. What her hate can be summed up as is that she hates people in general, she hates humanity because she view them as complicated, annoying and lacking proper motivation or drive. She sees everyone she meets in a bad light no matter how much of a saint they are until she herself finds something to accept or like about them. She sees all kids as brats no matter how much older than her they are, and especially when she's certain she'll win a fight like when her cousin showed up. That's when she feels that she can REALLY look down on them.

It's not that her family is blind to it, but they still see her as a child despite her past life. She's only 6 years old! She'll get over it after a proper talking and with age; she'll learn to like people more, she'll learn to not put herself in danger for other's sake. Except she won't change in that way. Her body may be that of a child but her mind is that of a grown, spiteful adult. It's not that they're blind to her behavior, but it's that they think she'll change on her own with small pushes in the right direction. They don't like how she's acting, but her family thinks that it'll come with time rather than constantly scold her for it. They think: "She's just a kid who has a bad temper! She'll mellow out." So they're not blind, they are trying, it's just Mio who refuses to try and change.

 **The-Funeral-Pyre:** Oh wow I never thought about the Haki! Thank you so much! :D

That sounds very much like something Mio would enjoy. Thank you again! I'll immediately add it to the list.

Yeah, there's a lot of useful magic from that series. Those two types of magic are actually magic I'm considering adding to the list, and memory magic. Anything from fairy tail is really cool. X3

That is very true... I'm putting a limit to all her powers, since it wouldn't make sense if she can use everything at the same time or unlimited amount of time, so if she chose that power she wouldn't be able to make technology in that way sadly enough. I am aiming to make her strong, but not too strong in her younger years. If she does acquire a very powerful ability before she's at least 15 years old, that ability will give her a lot of backlash due to her young and frail body. So yes, she'll become powerful, but not too powerful until she's an adult. She'll still lose against stronger opponents up until that point in time.


	9. Carm during the storm

Hey there! Had a nice Christmas break?

For me it was really busy so I couldn't get a chapter out until now, I'm sorry. I'll try to post the next chapter on Monday to make up for it, I really like writing on this story.

This one is a bit of a recap and revaluation of her life chapter, something Mio kinda needs to feel better about herself and her decision. So, I'm sorry in advance if this one seems boring but it's needed for her as a character in my opinion. Sorry for my grammar in this one, if I make any mistakes. I'm doing my best!

I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

 _Writing in this text_ means memories from old life

Calm during the storm

The storm has been raging on for 3 days now with only a few breaks in rainfall. The dark rain clouds seems endless at this point and everything in our compound is flooded. It's only a constant drizzle now compared to the downpour we got the very first day and the adults described it as something like the sea clouds coming in from the east or something like that. I don't care that much about how nature works, but seeing as we didn't have rain last year these clouds have been waiting for a long time. Thanks to Taro and his barriers our compound haven't gathered up THAT much water but I bet the rest of Suna look worse than this. I don't even want to imagine if all the buildings have made it… Mother said that a piece of our sand wall fell yesterday; it's going to take a long time to clean that up.

This place is almost suffocating with how everyone worry for other people's safety; questions if everyone are alright and stuff. I've even abused my empty ID so I could take a kid to the Kazekage tower just cause they wouldn't stop crying. It was driving me mad! Besides, I found the mom and then went immediately back home, it wasn't like I handed her off to some stranger. I didn't bring anyone else with me either, that'd just be stupid.

I sigh heavily as I watch the storm rage outside the window, staring at the huge puddle covering our compound. I want to go outside, run around and feel the warm breeze. It's only with my ID that me and the other ninja kids have stayed sane, more so in my case, but this is getting ridiculous. How long will it continue to rain?

"Moooooom. Can I go to my ID? The rain just isn't stopping."

I complain loudly, still staring out the window with the picture perfect expression of boredom. I'm so bored; I'm not allowed to go into my Zombie ID alone, Aiko and Taro won't let me, and I don't want to worry anyone by just disappearing without saying anything. I love my family too much. I should just go… _Walking out the door with a heavy backpack, I refuse to look back as I walk away. I won't be weak, I'll prove it._ On the other hand I wanna show that their opinions matter to me….

"Then you don't want to see how it is after a two year drought, this isn't the worst we've had."

I hear mother say behind me, moving closer and lightly kisses the top of my head. I huff softly at that, frowning as I look up at her. I really don't want to experience anything worse than this…

"But I'm bored. Can I go and destroy zombies? I've gotten better! I don't think about the eyes anymore."

"They're still human-like and I don't want you going in there alone."

She dissuades me gently, kissing the top of my head once more to have me relax. The loud happy buzz of my chakra can be very distracting.

"Wouldn't you rather go and see your father? He's in the Kazekage tower all alone."

I snort at her failed attempt to distract me from going zombie hunting, crossing my arms stubbornly with my chest still buzzing happily. Something like being alone wouldn't make him sad or lonely, he's my father after all.

"No he's not. He got the rest of my aunts and uncles there; he'll be fine. Can I go Zombie hunting if I bring Yuuto?"

I can sense him in a sleeping state upstairs, it's past noon and he's still dozing off; lazy bum. Mother smiles at me in amusement, lightly patting my head.

"Stubborn girl… well, alright. But only if you bring Yuuto and that bo staff you got to borrow, no exceptions. You still have those health potions you've told us about? If you get hurt you have to use them, ok?"

I roll my eyes with a warm smile at her worry, slinking out from her grasp and turn towards her. It's a yes, limited, but a yes.

"Alright alright. And we won't be going for those over 9 without another one with us; we'll be fine. At least I'm asking you if I can go instead of just going!"

I insist proudly, to which she affectionately kisses my forehead and thank me for it. I then set off to find Yuuto upstairs.

During the days we've been trapped inside of Taro's house me and my cousins have gone to the zombie zone a total of 5 times, sometimes with the rest of my cousin's teammates if everyone wanted to. Sho and Setsuko were disgusted and creeped out by the monsters, understandably so, and decided that they didn't want to come with ever again. They at least joined during our biggest haul of enemies so they got some good EXP from it. The first time we went in was more of a test round and after I had… puzzled myself back together I joined the others as they fought. While we've been battling in the zombie ID there are a few things that we noticed while there.

First is that the monsters don't die unless we bring their HP down to 0. Zombies level 10 and over can use Jutsu, logical since they're on Genin Level. The higher level monster the more EXP and money do we gain from it. Any money and items we acquire automatically end up in my inventory when someone picks it up and I can then afterwards give the items or money to someone else. We aren't infected in any way if the monsters hurt us, but we do get a status debuff that lasts for about 30 seconds that slow our movement speed, not that bad. The time is not slowing down in Zombie ID like in my empty one so three hours in the ID is three hours in the real world. The closer to the center we get the higher levelled the zombies get, but the level is also based off location; like the academy having Level 10-13 zombies since they're Genin.

Another thing is that we don't share EXP unless everyone attack the same target. I thought we'd share EXP if we were in the same party but that doesn't really apply, and if we attack it it's only the one dealing the finishing blow that get the full EXP while the rest who attacked it get 30% of the target's EXP. That world isn't really suited for team combat, more of a solo, but I'm always glad to have someone with me in case I screw up. I've gotten better with my fear, yes, but sometimes I still freeze up due to past memories. I'm making slow baby steps… no need to rush with my mental health. Rushing and pushing myself won't make it better.

In the zombie ID I also got to try out Aiko's Tonfa, and wow they feel great. I have gotten the skills for both Tonfa mastery and bo staff mastery. Bo staff mastery is higher since it's better suited when I'm paired up with Yuuto, who's short range, but I'll make sure to level up Tonfa mastery to be on par with it someday. Also, since I kinda broke the gamer system with my zombie ID the rules of our gaming powers were changed by our Maker. Now it takes a whole lot more EXP for us to level up, which I kinda expected, but I still got to level up two times before it got into effect for me, it got changed when Aiko leveled up…

Another thing is that now we gain CP and HP from our level too, to kinda compensate for not leveling up as easily as we could before, so now I'm a lot stronger than I was before my Zombie ID. I also spent 7 points to increase my strength stat to get more damage; I don't increase or level up my stats in the zombie ID, only my skills. Which is really good to know so I won't waste stats increase workout in there. But I should still be able to increase my stats in the empty ID, or at least I hope so. I have to try that out sometime.

I make it to the top of the stairs and walk over to the room I know Yuuto is sleeping in. I knock loudly on his door with a frown as I look at the time; it's 12.20, he should definitely be up by now. Especially since he missed lunch, he must be starving. We have been going into my ID after lunch and dinner these last two days after the first time, I still don't understand why the others want to take a break from it today… I can barely stand still without the thought of training coming to mind. And no, it's not because I'm pushing any problems away, I don't have any problems. Not major ones anyway…

"Yuuto! Up with you, sleepy head! Come with me and destroy zombies!"

I can feel Yuuto's chakra wake up with a jerk, only for him to turn around in his bed and lie still. My eyebrow twitch slightly in irritation that he is clearly ignoring me. Oh he's gotten enough sleep so he better be prepared on what I'll do.. I open the door to let the light inside, lighting up my hand with chakra to cast more light into the room. I'd use the ceiling lamp, but the electricity is out due to the storm.

"Get up! You've missed lunch so you'll go with me to the Zombies!"

He groans loudly and nuzzles into his pillow, lazily waving me off. That only makes me angrier, gritting my teeth as I glare hard at his back. That stupid lazy bum, he better get up and not waste my time.

"Shut up, we can do that tomorrow… Just let me sleep the day away. It should be the last storm day; tomorrow we gotta work hard."

"You can't be sure of that! It's still raining outside! I hate staying inside, I need to get out and do something! So I'll go and destroy zombies and you'll come with."

I protest loudly, walking over to the window in the bedroom to pull apart the curtains and gesture to the still falling rain. Yuuto snort softly, opening one of his eyes slightly to stare tiredly at me with his usually straight dark blue hair messy from sleep. Like a tired, grumpy kitten glaring at me and the offended weather.

"No. Go alone if you're that desperate, I'm staying… I'm not moving. And if you force me I'll just stay put."

He then closes his brown eye again, relaxing in the bed once more as he tries to ignore my presence. I clench my hands into fists, soooo tempted to hit him over the head to get his lazy ass off the bed. But I don't; he want to be lazy and have me go alone? Fine, I'll go alone then! Then no one can blame me from leaving when everyone refused. I need to blow off some steam; I'm so restless that I don't know what else to do right now.

"Fine! You know what? Maybe I will! I need to work with my Tonfa anyway."

I then walk out of the room with determined steps, a frown on my face. No one wants to join me today, what's up with all of them being so lazy? I don't get it; they were pumped to get EXP before.

"ID create."

I say loudly, forgetting to add 'zombie' at the end of it so I just step into my empty ID. Once I realize my mistake, I sigh loudly and rub my forehead. Stupid… Well, now it'd just feel weird to return and then go into Zombie ID. I might as well just train and walk around since I'm here; I do need to see if I can increase my stats in empty ID.

I walk down the stairs, hands in my black pant pockets as the outside has lit up without any sign of the previous rain. I'll start with a walk, maybe that'll let up my nerves a bit. I exit Taro's house without any kind of resistance from that clay substance they used in the real world, looking up at the blue sky with a slight frown. I miss the sun and warm breeze but the sun isn't as warm as it should be; I hope it'll stop raining soon. There's no breeze or nature chakra here either, as always, and I honestly miss the real sun. I'm so used to it always shining down on me that it feels strange to be cooped up inside for days. I walk down along the compound and exit through the gate, giving myself a bit of time to think of what I've achieved so far: think back on what I've accomplished through the 6 years of my life… _I don't have the time and energy to look back, just walk forward. Just look ahead; keep your head up and stay strong._

There's the time before I unlocked my memories… I was a baby and a toddler, barely able to do anything but read, sleep, eat and watch. Then I grew up and started to play with my cousins, getting better control over my body and keeping my positive view of the world. I started to train with my father, learning the basics of taijutsu, chakra control and throwing weapons. I always had a sense of urgency, something I could never understand why I had it, and through that I always pushed myself harder, wanting to learn more on how to be a good and strong ninja.

Then came my memory from the past; how it influenced me as a person, destroyed any hopes and dreams I had of ever having a pair of friends I could play with. How it warped my view of the world to always see the ugly side of it, never really trying to understand why it was bad and what purpose it had on the world as a whole.

As I'm making my way past a few training fields me and my cousins use to occupy, I remember how I always sought for others approval without really knowing it. I wanted others to see me as a strong individual but also to prove to myself that I could be strong. When I realized who Sasori was, an S ranked ninja, I wanted his approval more than anyone… Which somehow got mixed into me having a crush on him. I still like him, can't deny that, but now when I've figured out the reason it might change my view on it a little. He's handsome, smart and quiet, which makes it so much more important to me when he speaks up. Especially when he praises me, it means a lot more coming from Sasori than from my cousins.

I'm always striving to be stronger, always striving to be the best. But I've never tried to change my attitude towards others… How can I when it's drilled so deep inside of me that I don't even know where to start? No, I'll still be arrogant, prideful and spiteful towards others… But maybe, just maybe, once people stick around despite me acting like that, I can view them as comrades. Maybe I can have a happy buzz in my chakra around them too just like I have around Sasori. If only people don't do stupid shit that constantly annoy me. But, that's pretty hard to _not_ do with how everyone in this village have sticks far up their asses. It's like the only good or decent people are my family and the little mouse Kurisu from school.

I look up towards the Kazekage tower, unconsciously making my way towards it as I continue to think about my screwed up life. I met Kurisu in school during the first day… I've learned a lot from school, more than I thought I would. The kunoichi lessons are a lot of fun and the ninja training lessons are fun in the way that I can prove myself to be better than everyone else in my class. Everything theoretical comes easy to me and I've managed to learn one of the basic ninja academy Jutsus through spying on a higher class when I got bored. We're going to go through survival lessons next year so that's going to be useful. From my last life I remember vaguely how to survive in forests but this is going to be in the desert, it's different here.

I've been in a lot of fights and won every single one, the more difficult ones with Yuuto's help. But the year after next Yuuto won't be there with me in the academy, he'll graduate next year cause he's 10 years old now. I'm not sure what to think about it yet, but I'm sure that I'll handle myself once it gets to that. I'll have to use my zombie ID kinda often to level up and genin level with my cousins, I can't only count on Quests anymore, they don't give me enough EXP with how much more that's required now. Speaking of quests, I should check up on those I haven't completed yet. I call up my menu, entering my Quest log to look at the unfinished quests I have. I usually get one day quests or one task quests, but I have 3 quests I haven't completed yet, long term ones.

 **Fix the plot line**

Make sure that the horrible events that you find unfair and unnecessary never happens.

 **Quest requirements:**

?

?

?

?

?

?

Ques reward: 50 000 EXP, scroll of 30 SSP, 50 000 Ryo, a happy ending

 **Learn Funjutsu**

You know of the destructive and defensive power of Funjutsu so find a way to learn it!

 **Quest requirements:**

Buy Funjutsu 101 and Funjutsu master in gamer shop

Have someone from Konoha teach you Funjutsu

Develop your own seal

Optional:

?

Quest reward: +20 Fame, 6000 EXP, 8000 Ryo, mystical creature summoning scroll, stronger ties with Konoha

Completing optional goal: scroll of 30 SSP

 **Unlock all SSP skills**

Use your mind jutsu to unlock all available SSP skills you can acquire from different anime you've watched in your previous life.

 **Quest requirements:**

Unlock everything from Bleach

Unlock everything from Fairy Tail

Unlock everything from KHR

Unlock everything from My hero academia

Unlock everything from Naruto

Unlock everything from The gamer

Unlock everything from Pokemon

Unlock everything from One piece

Unlock everything from ?

Quest reward: scroll of 50 SSP

I really want to complete all of them, having those SSP scrolls will be great to unlock abilities. Though, I'm a bit unnerved over how many abilities I'll have to choose from; it'll be really hard to pick. I've at least gone through most of the Bleach story, just a few bits that's still blocked off but I'll get through it after two or three more meditation sessions. Then I'll just have to do the same thing with 7 more and find out which anime the question mark is…

That summoning contract is something I really need, I want mythical creatures so badly. I remember from my past life how I entered a site centered around taking care of all kinds of different dragons, which I absolutely adored. Dragons have always been and will always be my favorite mythical creatures and dragons are awesome in so many different ways. That dragon site helped me so much with my anger issues in my past life; I need dragons as my summon animal.

I let out a quiet sigh and close the quest log window as I stare down at the ground, watching the sandy road while making my way towards the center of the village. My past life… it feels like an eternity ago but I still remember it so clearly from time to time. _They're all smiling at me, patting me on the back to show their support._

I still get snippets of my past as I go through the present, remembering small parts of it as I think of something related to that specific scene in the past. The memories end abruptly but I still remember my past so well.

I was a troublemaker. A problem child without being a real problem. Mom always said I inherited her temper, something I never really noticed her ever having problems with. She must've had a better way to handle it than I had. From a young age I was always 'better' than the others around me which made me develop a superiority complex. I was always frustrated with the people around me and always lashed out when I didn't see any sense in what was happening around me. Like the time I knew it was my uncle who was the Santa and proceeded to rip off his fake beard in a fit of rage that 'the real Santa didn't have time for me'. I always wanted to be the best, have the best things and have a better 'position' than the people around me; that mentality never changed throughout my life.

I spent most of my time with boys since they understood my tendency to start fights and getting frustrated easily. I was the violent girl in class who still got the best grades despite my bad attitude. I was smart and sucked in information like a sponge, just how I am in this life. I went to the best school for engineering through scholarships because I wanted to prove to my family that I'd be something more than a violent, smart girl; that I'd use my brains for something good. I continued to get into trouble, my temper never got better and I continued to love my family dearly, but I refused to show how hard it was in my new school and how much I missed them. I needed to be strong for them, to assure them that everything was ok with me so they wouldn't need to worry. That they could focus on my little brother who was less of a genius but had compassion for others, a trait that I in my past life never really could understand.

I have many things in my past life that I'm proud of and just as many things, if not more, that I regret… I'm proud of my achievements academically and how I still found people who accepted me for who I was. That I had a loving family through it all and that I always worked towards redeeming myself to them. The things I regret however…

I stop in the middle of the empty street, taking a deep breath to control my emotions a bit better as my chakra flare up slightly. I rub the back of my neck, closing my eyes as I let my thoughts flow. Like Yohio wanted me to do; he want me to heal. I can't do that without accepting my past.

I left my family to try and be 'successful' even if it brought me so much pain emotionally to leave my hometown. I created more problems than I could ever fix, being the problem child I was, always angry at everyone and never accepting anyone to get closer to me than my best friends. I never tried to accept feelings of deep love, to never let myself feel that connection because I didn't want to drag someone else deep into my shit. I did try to get therapy, yes, but I never went through with the exercises they suggested to control my anger. I just used other media to distract me, run away from my problems to never deal with them.

My biggest regret is-. Is that I couldn't save my brother… He died with me because I wasn't fast enough. I wanted to spoil him when I was in town, spending a whole day with him to catch up on what's been happening. The trouble I had caused from the past bit me in the ass and I dragged him down with me; something he never deserved….

I flinch slightly when I can feel tears gather into my eyes, reaching up to try and wipe them away before they have a chance to fall. His usually bright eyes flash through my mind, only to be replaced with the dead light I saw before I also passed away. I quickly continue to walk, furiously wiping at my eyes to help keep the tears at bay. It's my fault, I know it… But I also know that wherever he is, my little bro wouldn't want me to blame myself for someone else's actions.

I can see it so clearly, how he'd puff out his cheeks angrily like a little puffer fish and look so determined. He'd tell me that I shouldn't blame myself for something others did; that I did my best and that I can only do my best. I can't help but let out a choked laugh as I imagine him telling me this with his cute determined voice, a grin spreading on my face as I continue to walk down the street while trying to hold back my tears. Yeah; he wouldn't want me to live my life in regret… He'd want me to live happily, to always do my best like I've always done and use this second chance for something even better. He'd encourage me every step on the way to continue and live my life to the fullest without the weight of his death on my shoulders. He was that kind of selfless person…

This makes me remember when I played with Yuuto for the first time, he was so cheerful and bright as a child. He was so full of smiles as he showed me how to draw a tree with my bad motor skills. He praised my drawings despite them looking like absolute shit. The two of us sat down to read books together from time to time, my favorite way to pass time.

Yohio, he always saw something more in me that the others couldn't see. He pushed my intelligence to its limits, giving me riddles to solve once I knew the language well enough and practiced calligraphy with me. I was always so happy to spend time with him, eager to learn more and be seen as an equal. It brought me more joy than anything else, to be recognized by Yohio as something special when I knew he was more special than I was.

Aiko always teased me and pushed my buttons during my bright early life, taking pleasure in my frustration over how she treated me. She gave me new nicknames almost every day until the nickname 'cherry' stuck and then spread through the rest of our family. My name 'Mio' actually means cherry; when she came up with the nickname, I got so frustrated with her teasing that my whole body grew red in embarrassment. Now I'm quite fond of the nickname, connecting the name 'cherry' with a sense of calm and love. It has become something only my closest people call me, a safety net so to say.

Sho and Setsuko always encouraged me into doing mischievous acts, like baking cookies with salt to share with the others or playing distraction while Sho and Setsuko did some type of prank. We then all had a great laugh as the rest of the family 'suffered' from our mischievous actions and it was a lot of fun.

I love all of my cousins dearly and I have something special I did with only them. It all shifted when I got my past memories however. Yuuto became my teasing older brother who I often argue with, Aiko became the great role model who still loved to tease me but more fondly than to just frustrate me like she did before. Yohio became more like a advisor, always there to help me and guide me when I hit a wall in my progress. Sho and Setsuko grew out of their pranking days and instead focused on their training. Now when I think about it, I haven't really reconnected to them in the same way. I spend quiet moments with them, just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. But we don't really do anything together like we used to…

I still have a lot to work on regarding my personality and abilities as a ninja, but I'll never stop moving towards being better. Both as a person and as a ninja. I still remember the value I have of human life from my child days in this life and I'm determined to make this world a better place. I refuse to let people suffer when I know I can do something to stop it; I hate people who use others for their own gain and I hate those who only think of themselves. I'll become the strongest there is and change it. I still have no idea HOW I will accomplish this but I'll find some way, there has to be a way to make sure human life is valued and not just used. I don't want to be forced to kill to survive, I really don't.

I stop as I arrive at the Kazekage tower, the large building towering over me with its circular shape. I don't know why, but I get the sudden urge to climb up to the top. So I activate my wall climbing skill, something Kurisu 'taught' me during one of our training sessions even if I knew how to do it, and start to walk up along the sandy surface of the building with ease. I think back to my dear little brother, imagining what he'd tell me if he ever caught me having these kind of thoughts… 'live your life without regrets sis! If anyone can do it ,it's you!' He'd say. And he's right; I should live this life without regrets. Without doing something I know I'd regret in the long run, without doing something that I'd think 'I should've done this instead' when I think back on it. I'll still undoubtedly make mistakes, it's part of being human, but with my past memories I can at least stop myself from doing the worst kind of mistakes. Or at least I hope I can...

I look out over the village as I continue my way up along the Kazekage tower, watching how the sandy buildings are lit up by the fake sun and shine with a type of glimmering beauty that's hard to describe. Even without a wind I can feel the slight heat from the sun caress my skin and warm up my whole being. I find myself smiling as I continue to look over my home, following the Shinobi roads with my eyes and imagining the shopping streets filled with people going about their daily life. Suna is limited in its space due to the cliffs surrounding it, but that only gives it a stronger sense of life, of activity.

I stop at the very top of the Kazekage building, hands resting in my pants pockets as I continue to gaze at my home. I could've been reborn anywhere in the whole ninja world, but I have to count myself lucky to be born in Suna… In Konoha I wouldn't have been happy with how many problems I know of the village system. In Kiri I wouldn't have been happy with the bloody graduation exams and the later blood purge that will happen, if I can't somehow stop it. In Iwa I wouldn't have been happy with how little I know of the village and how different their morals seem to be compared to my own. I wouldn't have been happy in Kumo either with their superiority complex they have over the other villages, even if it's a trait I share I wouldn't have been happy with how everyone else would be like me.

But here in Suna…. it's flawed, it has clan conflicts within itself, it's a bit wobbly on the economical side and one of the most inferior villages in military strength due to its vast desert and lack of smaller villages. But it's warm in its own way; it's as calm as it's chaotic, it's as cold as it is warm, it has democracy where everyone in the village has a chance to vote for huge decisions that concern everyone. Suna has a nice balance between 'follow everything Kazekage say' and 'the people get to choose'. Suna has a nice balance in overall morals as well, just as willing to kill as they are to be diplomatic. Everything in my home has a nice balance; I wouldn't have wanted to be born anywhere else, I have come to truly love my village….

The smile grows on my face as I look towards the wall surrounding Suna, specifically the opening leading out towards the vast, bright desert surrounding it. A warm buzz spread through my being as I get a sense of calm from thinking of my future, thinking about my home and the family I want to protect. I love my village and the family I have here… I'd really do anything for my village, something I never really understood prior to being reborn in this world. As I watched the series I could never understand why the ninjas had such conviction for their village and why they fought for a village that had so many bad things happening inside it. But now I understand; it's their home. It's where they grew up, where they learned all their skills and have precious people to protect. Suna is my home, the place where I belong and where I will stay for the rest of my life. This second life I've been given by our Maker; I will live every moment of my life without any regrets. I will live to serve the people and the village I hold close to my heart; I will be the best ninja in this whole village and fight with my life to keep it intact.

I feel calm, like nothing can interrupt the sense of peace I have at the moment. As if realizing the love for my village awoke a devotion I never knew I had. I exit my empty ID, closing my eyes as I can feel the calm drizzling rain fall over me and make my clothes slightly damp. I turn my head skyward, keeping my footing on top of the Kazekage tower by sticking to it with chakra. I can feel all the people underneath and around me, relieved to feel the breeze brush against me despite how cold it is. It's a huge contrast to go from sun warm to rain cold, but it's not a change that I mind too much. This is also a part of my home.

"Shiro-sama…"

I start to talk to the empty air without really knowing why, opening my eyes to look up at the rainy sky. I have a wide, bright smile on my face, feeling as if a huge weight have been lifted from my chest. Like I can breathe easier now when I heave a clearer reason to protect others.

"I understand why you chose this village; it's wonderful."

It's like I'm making a vow to my ancestors. A vow that I'll do my best to protect our home, something Shiro-sama helped in building.

"I didn't know you that well before you died. But I know you loved this village just like everyone else in our family; just like I have come to do."

I start to grin widely, feeling a sense of pride as I continue to speak. I don't know why I'm doing this but it just feels right. As if my conviction will solidify and become real instead of just a deceleration to prove myself to be stronger. A vow to everyone apart of this village, including myself; a vow that I WILL be the best.

"I wouldn't have wanted to be apart of any other village than Suna. I'll fight for this village to my very last breath and I refuse to go down easy. I don't care who will stand in my way towards the top, I'll make sure that I grow stronger and stronger every day. Before you all know it I'll be the best in this whole village! I refuse to go down in any way!"

I raise a fist to the sky, grinning wider than I've done since my young childhood. I'm feeling giddy and happy, proud of myself that I'm saying this out loud with my great grandpa in mind. With my late little brother in my heart. I won't live a life with any regrets!

"I'll get stronger and stronger! I'll always move forward and get back up every time I stumble. I'll make you all proud of having me as a Masago, I'll make sure of it! I'll create a legacy of my strength long after I'm gone and I'll help our village prosper. Nothing anyone say will change my mind, because I _will_ be the best!"

I get no reply from my vow, of course I wouldn't; I screamed out into the rain and the sky without anyone around me, but it all feels more real saying it out loud for Shiro-sama. I will be the strongest in this whole village and I'll make it into a better place, I'll make sure the world doesn't get screwed over by Madara's plan to revive Juubi, I won't let it get ruined by black zetsu reviving Kaguya. I'll be the strongest and make sure the world will have peace!

 **Ding! You have received a quest!**

I blink curiously at the window and then look at the quest I received. I laugh softly, scratching the back of my neck. It's like our Maker and my ancestors heard me… I enjoy these long term missions, it gives me a goal to move towards.

 **Become the very best**

Become the strongest ninja in your whole village to get greater influence in the world!

 **Quest requirements:**

?

?

?

?

?

?

Optional:

?

Quest reward: 10 000 EXP, scroll of 30 SSP, 50 000 Ryo

Complete optional: Automatically unlock one SSP skill without paying necessary SSP

Quest failure: Loss of self esteem

[Yes] [No]

That optional requirement is something I have to get, to unlock a SSP skill without spending any points would be an amazing advantage. I can choose the most expensive skill I have and unlock it immediately! I look back up towards the dark clouds, relieved to see the clouds part slightly to reveal the blue sky behind it. It's starting to let up… like Yuuto said it would.

"I won't let you down!"

I proclaim loudly as I accept the quest. I'll be the very best in the village, I'll grow stronger and stronger. I have many years ahead of me until the fourth ninja war, if it even happens at this point. I'll do my best to change the future in whatever way I can… and I'll do it without any regrets.

Watch over me bro, Shiro-sama, our Maker. Wherever you are, I'll make you proud.

* * *

I hope this chapter gave a bit of a better insight to Mio as a character; she cares a lot about people despite her attitude. And now you also get to see her long term quests and the summon she's planning to have, I'm having one of my dear friends help me with her future dragon summons. X3

If you have any opinions, please tell me. I'm always happy to receive critique. ^^

 **This chapter's question:** Did you get any good Christmas gifts?

 **Review replies**

 **King Sarutobi:** Yes, the Kagune seems very useful, but it's limited on what abilities she can receive from it but I can figure it out. Thanks for your vote!

 **hiareportsyou:** Thank you very much. It's needed for someone like her. X3

Oh, it's only two or three chapters until she get to graduate and the things that happen before that is kinda important for the future events. If I skip now, it'd be confusing once that specific thing make an appearance without a good explanation how or why. With war approaching and her skills, they'd want her out in the field as soon as possible so she's not graduating at 12 like rookie 9 does.


	10. Change in perspective

Another chapter out!

Sorry it took a bit of time with this one, real life got in the way. XD I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Change in perspective

I wrinkle my nose in slight disgust at the children in front of me, but I don't say anything. We're having a survival test at the end of our third year in the academy and we're paired up in groups. We're supposed to survive on our own out in the desert without any teachers helping us, but I can feel a teacher close by at all times just within hearing range. At the moment, the three kids I've been paired up with are arguing over how to read a map properly since we're supposed to get to a checkpoint a few kilometers away from the village and camp there overnight. We don't have any food or water with us, since it's survival practice, and none have even thought of looking for water in this warm weather. They're just arguing on where to go, stupid shit heads.

I pinch the bridge of my nose as the second girl in our group let out a shrilling sound as if to amplify her point and I'm so tempted to punch her unconscious… I'm level 7 from the countless times I've entered the zombie ID and have a ton of money that I can spend however I want since I get to keep 20% of all money anyone gathers in that space. I get to keep all items too, since no one else can use the potions other than gamers and the zombie parts are useless. I have given Yohio a few SSP scrolls… but I've kept most of them to myself. I have about 8 SSP scrolls now, all who give me 5 SSP each. I won't use them yet, cause I want to wait until I've unlocked more of my SSP skills, but it's nice to know the stronger ninjas I let into my ID give me a lot of useful stuff in exchange for the money they get when killing a zombie. I'm getting rich through all of this and soon I'll get another ID thing, I'm sure of it.

As I continue to be frustrated by my arguing group, a ding sounds out through the air to indicate that I have a quest. I look towards the red window that popped up and I can feel my eyebrow twitch angrily. You've got to be kidding me….

 **Survive the desert!**

Take control of your group to make sure you don't fail the test due to their incompetence. Take the lead!

Quest reward: +100 EXP, +2 WIS, +10 Fame (+1SSP)

Quest failure: Failed the test, -5 fame

[Yes] [No]

Our Maker just want to torture me by having me lead these brats? I'm not suited to lead, I'm way too impulsive damm it. But I guess I am the one who seems to be in most control here... And I can make them all listen to me with how strong I am, I suppose. With a heavy sigh I accept the quest and then proceed to walk closer to my group. I hit all three of them hard in the head to make them all shut up, raising my fist slightly as a silent threat that I'll hit them again if they start the argument again while they're holding onto their heads

"Are you all stupid!? This is a survival test, a test to see if we can survive the desert. It's not a competition on who can get there first!"

They're all listening to me with angry glares while nursing their heads. At least I have their attention… I don't bother to know their names, I'll just call them guy 1, guy 2 and whiny bitch. I point towards guy 1.

"Get a better sense of time, idiot! It's 2, not 12, the sun is in a different position then!"

I point towards guy 2.

"You're going on about getting to the checkpoint, but how you considered how long it will take us to get there!? The map is small but the land is huge!"

I point towards the whiny bitch with a harder glare.

"And you better shut the fuck up, no one cares about your hair or clothes when fighting for survival. In the desert, sand is everywhere, deal with it."

I give the three of them some time to process what I just said before I snatch the map from Guy 2, rolling it up in my hand as I continue to glare at the three of them. They're all such idiots; haven't they been listening to the teachers? We always need water first. If these guys don't shape up we'll have a pretty bad ninja army in the future, they need to be better than this to protect our home!

"Remember the checklist, dumb asses. We're not following this map until we got a source of water, we won't last more than an hour or two in this heat. And don't you fucking _dare_ try and pick a cactus without me inspecting it first, I don't trust any of you to know the difference between a poisonous one and a safe one."

"What's your problem!?"

The whiny bitch screams out, standing up straight to tower over me as she's glaring fiercely at me. She's taller and older than me, but I don't care; she's just as stupid as everyone else in this group, if not the most stupid one.

"You're not the leader here, it was Hiro-kun who got picked as a leader! He's the one with the map! I'm not going to do anything you tell me to do!"

My eyebrow twitch angrily at her shrill and annoying tone, activating my 'threatening' aura to stare up at her without any sense of fear. I could get rid of her with my empty ID easily and just finish the test with the other two. But this is a team exercise. I need to finish this with the best score possible or I won't be satisfied, nor would I have completed the gamer quest.

"Well, now I got the map. And none of you have your priorities straightened out. So you could either shut up and follow me so we can pass this test or you could do as your precious 'Hiro-kun' suggest and die on the way to the checkpoint. Which one seems more appealing to you?"

I then cut off my threatening aura to look at the two boys, acting as if she's not there.

"I hope you're smarter than her. We need water, so let's get a move on."

Once I've said that, I walk away from the group, still holding the map and moving towards a cactus field I sense not too far away. With my chakra sense, I can feel the difference in nature chakra; it's very useful in the desert.

After a few seconds of hesitating, I feel the two boys follow me which forces the girl to follow as well. And as I'm making my way towards the cactus field, I get a notification.

 **Ding! A new skill has been created through a special action!**

 **Leadership (Passive) Lvl 1 EXP: 00%**

+Allows the user to give other people orders and have them follow it through. Depending on what argument the user has and what level they have in leadership, the effect on the target will differ. If the argument is good enough and the level of the leadership skill match well against the target, the target will be unable to refuse the user's orders and act accordingly.

+The fame/infamy of the user can also have an impact on the leadership skills success. If the user is respected or recognized by the target the leadership skill will have a much larger impact on them

Well.. That sounds like something Yohio has used on me. I close the window, not thinking too much of it as I focus ahead on the cactuses that are getting into view. It'll be a lot better if people just listen to me without needing a good beat up, which this skill _might_ help with. So I guess I'll accept it for now. Not that it'll be anything I use often; It's kinda useless with how I'll be the best and perform missions without any kind of leader role, just a mission taking ninja taking on the hardest challenges. I can't call the shots with my impulsive behavior, that'd be the worst decision anyone could make. But with this they might just listen instead of acting like idiots.

I let the other kids find out which cactus that's drinkable/edible to have them practice, watching over them with a keen eye as I 'stand on guard' as another form of practice for any kind of incoming threat. I hit the whiny bitch on the head when she almost picked a Datura, which would cause hallucinations if you ever eat it. She said 'it was pretty' but it's just idiotic to think everything pretty is harmless. Hasn't she learned anything from kunoichi classes? At least Guy 1 and Guy 2 gather up some Prickly pear that were hidden behind a few rocks with their kunai and I help them wrap the cactus up in cloth to carry it safely and prevent more moisture from escaping. The skin on the outside is filled with small thorns and it's the flesh inside that's filled with water. We'll gather up food later since it's water that's most crucial.

Once we've gathered the cacti we need for our journey, I stab one of my kunai into the sand to use it as a guide to know what way is north. As I'm doing this, I explain to the other three what I'm doing and why. I'm pleasantly surprised when they all listen and pay attention to what I'm saying, a part of me being pleased to know they're trying to improve. I instruct them on how to calculate exactly where you are on the map using different landmarks that are littered across the desert and on the map. I hope that they'll actually learn something and not just die because they can't get their facts straight. Once I see that they all understand what I've been doing, I roll up the map and start to walk in the direction of the checkpoint. Since I didn't take any help from my gamer map, I discreetly take a peek at it to see if I was right. I was off a few meters but I was correct on where we are. That made me feel very proud of myself and my experience in geography and tracking; I did learn some great things in school in this life.

Just like I thought, it took us the rest of the day to get to the checkpoint and I can see on their expressions that my team are relieved that we had prickly pear to chew on throughout our trip. All of us have cloaks to protect our skin, of course, but I kinda wish I had a proper hat instead of just a cloth over my head. I should buy one sometime soon, along with all the other things I should do. We make it to the checkpoint we've been given, not the first group from what I can see further away but we look more energized than they are. We still have prickly pear that can last us through the rest of the sunny day until it becomes night time. I stare blankly as the whiny bitch whine about having tired feet, my eyes narrowing on her. She's pathetic, even more pathetic than my little mouse Kurisu; and that's saying a lot. At least I can see potential in Kurisu that she'll serve our home well, but this bitch? Nope.

"Quit your whining, if you can't handle a walk through the desert then you'll never be a good ninja."

"What did you just say!?"

She shrieks angrily and glares at me, I don't let my own expression shift to show my irritation. I hope I never get teamed up with her again…

"You heard me. You'll never be a ninja if you whine over sore feet. Are you even trying to improve and fight for our village?"

The bitch scoffs loudly, straightening up to tower over me and giving me a hard glare as if she's some tough shit ninja. Yeah, right, she only has ninja parents and barely any special skills to speak of. She doesn't have any drive like I do; and she only cares about her appearance.

"Like you're one to talk. You're just angry all the time! No wonder you don't have any kind of friends, you have the worst attitude ever!"

Is she trying to insult me? Wow, that's not a very good insult at all. Yes, I'm angry all the time, but that's because everyone around me are idiots; her included. So I raise an eyebrow at the girl, clearly not impressed.

"That comment would have affect on me if I cared about other people's opinion. Friends or no friends I'm still going to be the best. You're just a pebble on the sidewalk."

I shrug slightly, acting unaffected as I turn away to sort out our limited supplies for a mediocre camp. On the inside I'm bristling in rage, wanting to punch that girl so hard in the face it'll look like she had a surgery. I've been forced to listen to her whining the whole. Day. I'm reaching my wit's end but I'm still trying to be fair. I'm looking forward to the night so I can get some peace and quiet during my guard shift.

Since I know how to fix a proper camp from teachers instructions and my cousins demonstrations, I let the two guys start it up as I 'stand on guard'. It's only when I see guy 2 tie a knot in a bad way that I step in, retying it properly while instructing him how to do it correctly. We eat another round of prickly pear when the camp is finished and that whiny bitch is still glaring at me. I continue to give her a 'I don't care' attitude instead of my 'get out from my fucking space bitch' attitude I usually have. It's hard, but I manage… if I knock out a teammate because I snapped we won't pass the test.

It gets closer to evening and I walk off to gather some insects to eat for dinner. Whiny bitch is, of course, disgusted by our meal but the two guys eat without any complaint. At least they didn't have to catch the bugs, lucky bastards. I got a lot of insect bites that are still hurting. I'm satisfied by the meal along with the two guys while whiny bitch starts to complain about her hunger since she didn't eat any of the insects I offered. I sigh heavily when she just doesn't shut up, trying to have us pity her and give her better food that could supposedly appear from thin air somehow in the middle of the desert _._ Stupid bitch.

"I'm kinda good with riddles, anyone want to have a go?"

I ask my group, looking specifically at the two boys. I'm really really struggling to reign in my temper with the whiny bitch next to me, and thankfully; it seems like my other two teammates see this and quickly agree to prevent the whiny bitch from getting a punch to her face. I completely ignore the bitch's complaint that riddles are boring and smirk slightly at the two boys.

"I'm full of holes but can hold water. What am I?"

"Cheese, obviously."

Whiny bitch says like she's the best person in the world who's always right. I twitch at both her answer and her tone of voice, turning towards her with an angry glare.

"Wrong… and if you don't fucking shut that dumb mouth of yours, I'll trap you in another dimension until this fucking test is finished. Got it?"

At this point in time, most of the village know about my ability to open pathways into a zombie dimension to get money; so she's understandably mortified by the thought and finally shut up. I turn towards the two guys, both looking awkward about the situation the whiny bitch created. Yes, I should be screaming at her. Yes, I should punch her over and over. But I know the rules so I'll follow them…. For now.

"I- uuuh… s-sponge?"

Guy one asks nervously. I nod, smiling a little at his answer and declare that it's correct. With whiny bitch now quiet and behaving, me and the two other guys continue to trade riddles with each other as it get closer to night time. It feels somewhat normal, unusual but not that bad. We light up a fire using the dried prickly pear skin and dry sticks I found during my bug hunt once the sun has gone down, I offer to take the whole night watch to let them all sleep since I don't need sleep anyway. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of my classmates by waking up screaming from a nightmare either. That'd be the last thing I want… _I need to be strong. I can't show any sign of weakness, they'd use it against me._

I can only show any kind of weakness in front of my family…..

So as the night draw closer, I sit by the opening of our blanket tent we've made from our cloaks and shift into a lotus position while the other three goes to sleep. I can see that the other groups further away have all gone to sleep without a night guard. Amateurs…

I close my eyes and calm my breathing, still having an awareness of my surroundings as I activate my mind walking jutsu. Last time I meditated I finally unlocked the last ability from bleach, Benehime, that was a bitch and a half to unravel. There are so many useful sword abilities I can use in that anime but I won't use SSP on any of them just yet. I need to see more options on what I can do, even if it'll take me longer than I'd like to. Besides, my mind jutsu levelled up two times thanks to Benehime so now I should be able to walk through the series a lot faster than I did bleach.

Now; which one to focus on next? I'll take My hero academia later; the main character is such a cry baby and same with Katekyou hitman reborn. The gamer? …. eh, not too interested in those abilities but I'll look through it to see if I can unlock something more useful from it. So with that thought in mind, I start to go through the memories I have of The gamer, a Korean manga I read. The memories play fast through my inner eye and I find nothing else I can use; I haven't hit a memory block yet and the story just keep going and going. I have to be missing something in The gamer or that part of the quest would be completed like with Bleach.

I finally bump into memory blocks after an hour of just going through the story. I unravel them quite easily to expose the powers I can use and one after another notification windows pop up around me to indicate I can use the abilities from 'The gamer'. Endless magic arrow, Endless spinning magic arrow, Lightning arrow, these are a lot more useful than I thought they'd be….

I continue to unlock abilities through the night, still keeping an ear out on any approaching 'enemies' that we need to take care of. It took me a lot less time to go through the 'The gamer' series from what I've read in my previous life, I've already gotten through 4 abilities. Quite an interesting story actually; I forgot that Han Jee Han became S class threat in that world. But as the night ends, I know I only have two or three meditation nights left until I've unlocked everything from that series. Then I'll have two check marks on my long term quest; I'm making great progress.

With no kind of activity happening during the night that required my attention, I stand up and stretch with a quiet groan once the sun peeks out from the horizon. With the night over, it shows our survival practice has ended. My body is still a little stiff after sitting in one position the whole night so I start with my usual morning routine to get my body into motion. I can't run around without any teachers arriving to say the exercise is over so I settle for stretches and normal strengthening methods like push ups and stuff. It's a bit hard on the shifting sand but it gets easier when I use the sand walking technique over my whole body to have a more solid layer under me.

It isn't until I'm at the end of my hour long exercise that my teammates exit our coverage, only for Guy 1 to stop and stares at me with wide eyes as if I'm some sort of maniac. I just frown at him from my upside down position, performing a handstand as I slowly lower my straightened legs so my knees are Level with my belly button and then move them up again. This is one of the best ways to increase my Strength stat.

"What?"

I grunt out at my bewildered teammates, lowering my feet to touch the ground and then stand up straight with my back towards the kids. I turn towards them, stretching out my shoulder muscles first to make sure they aren't stiff later on; now for the stretching part.

"Don't you ever do this type of thing?"

"Y-You-...! How the hell do your stomach muscles handle that?!"

Whiny bitch screams out in surprise, pointing at me as if I'm some kind of abomination. I grit my teeth angrily at her shrill tone, narrowing my eyes at her while I continue doing my stretches.

"Maybe because unlike you, bitch, I work hard towards my goal every day. I've been doing this kind of thing since I was three years old, it builds up strength. I thought you lazy asses would take longer to wake up, it's 7 in the morning. Colour me surprised; good job."

With that said, I bend down over my legs and stand on my hands to stretch out my back properly. I can feel my teammates continue to stare at me dumbly before they slowly start to pack up our camp. Good, so they're not completely useless and can do stuff on their own. So as they're doing that, I keep a small eye on them to make sure no one tear through my cloak while finishing with my stretches. It's relaxing to work out, gets some frustration out of me and clears my head. I'm now getting really curious what else I can unlock from the gamer; it must be useful with the main character becoming S rank. Since I got 10 Bleach abilities, it should be the same for the gamer. I've unlocked 4 so far, which means there's another 6 left where the last one will take the longest. Passive abilities would be great, it'd have a lot more use in the long run.

Once we're all finished, the teacher who have been watching us through it all appear before us in a whirlwind of sand, a wide smile on his face as he look over me and my teammates. Cloth on his head, headband, face paint… pretty standard for Suna ninja.

"Great job! You four all pass the test."

"Thank you…"

Guy 1 mumble softly, nodding to the teacher. I start to smirk widely, crossing my arms proudly after I've put on my cloak. These shit heads wouldn't have made it as well as they did without me. They just got lucky.

"Exceptional leader skills, Mio, you surprised us all."

The teacher turn to me as he says this. I have to blink a few times, my eyes widening as I process what he said. Did he just say….?

"Waaait wait, leader? I just told them what they did wrong and corrected it, can that seriously be called leadership?"

The teacher says, surprised by my outburst and nods slowly.

"Well, yes. It's good to know what's right and what's wrong in a situation, and you instructed your teammates on how to do it right."

I frown slightly and shake my head in disdain. No way, that just sounds weird. A leader is supposed to lead people, not just tell them they're doing things wrong. Weird ninja people… Well that'd be the first and last time I'm considered a 'leader' then, I can't have that kind of responsibility. Yohio is more suited for that stuff.

"Well, anyway, let's get you all back to the academy for the review."

The teacher continues with a bright smile on his face. I don't know if that smile is real or not, but it looks slightly strained. Oh well, not my problem, I passed and that's what's important. As we're walking with our teacher towards the academy, I get a notification window of my completed test.

 **Ding! You completed a mission!**

 **Survive the desert!**

Take control of your group to make sure you don't fail the test due to their incompetence. Take the lead!

Quest reward: +100 EXP, +2 WIS, +10 Fame (+1SSP)

I grin widely as I exit the window, still grinning as I turn towards the whiny bitch who has been complaining the whole time.

"Hey, bitch."

She reacts as I expected, shrieking in anger at what I called her. And I proceed to do something I've wanted to do the whole test… I turn around fully and punch her _hard_ in the cheek, the force of my punch and her unawareness makes her fall down onto the sandy ground on her back. I still have a wide grin on my face as the girl look up at me with wide eyes frozen in shock. That was satisfying, I'm still brimming with annoyance but I've been wanting to do that for a long time. At least I didn't put my whole weight into it.

" _That's_ what you fucking get for annoying the hell out of me with your constant whining…"

I turn towards the two boys, giving them a two fingered salute. I just know that she'll start complaining and crying once she get over her shock and I don't want to be here and deal with the aftermath.

"See you at the academy, losers!"

And before the teacher can scold me or the whiny bitch can get up or start shouting, I use my recently acquired body flicker technique to rush towards the village. Luckily, it's only sand between me and the village walls so I don't have to worry about running into anything while using this fast travel technique.

Yes, I made Yuuto teach it to me in return for me teaching him the chakra manipulation techniques Kurisu has showed me. I have the skill but it's only Level 1 so far so I can't travel that far with it.

 **Ding! Your 'Body flicker technique' have leveled up!**

Well, make that level two then. This is a good start to the day, got to punch an annoying bitch and run away from getting the consequences for it. Life is great~.

* * *

I'm sitting at home today, because apparently Taro can lock me into my house quite effectively. I got house arrest for punching that girl, she went and complained to her parents and all the teachers over me 'harassing' her so I got a punishment for my actions. Taro may have locked me from exiting the house, he may have forced me to be unable to use my ID create somehow but that doesn't stop me from trying to improve! So right now I'm trying to figure out where to put my stat points.

 **Name:** Mio Masago **Class** : Gen 4 gamer **Age:** 6

 **Titles** : Prodigy child

 **Young child:**

all stats and EXP concerning physical properties will be halved until User reach age of 9.

 **Prodigy child:**

Removes any physical or mental limitations the user has for leveling up any skill or increasing stats. Gains +1 SSP (special skill point) for every cleared quest regarding showing off your abilities.

 **Zombie killer:**

Have greater chance at receiving rare items and gain double EXP from killing zombies.

 **Status:** Normal

 **Level:** 7 **EXP:** 1775/4900

 **HP:** 1430 **HP Regen:** 34/minute

 **CP:** 2740 (-11% chakra use) **CP Regen:** 92/minute (26% meditate = 116/minute)

 **STR:** 39 (+15%) = 45

 **VIT:** 43 (+35%) = 58

 **PE:** 103

 **WIS:** 31 (+13) = 44 (+22,5%) = 54

 **INT:** 53 (+13) = 66 (+38,5%) = 91

 **SE:** 145

 **DEX:** 32 (+18)= 50 (+43%) = 71

 **AGI:** 38 (+50%) = 57

 **LUK:** 10

 **Fame/Infamy:** 20/0

 **Unspent points:** 72

 **Money:** 46 580

 **50 AGI Bonus:** Increase the user's base running speed by 50%

 **50 WIS Bonus:** Increases chakra regeneration by 50%

 **50 DEX Bonus:** 20% increased efficiency with weapons, 50% increased critical hit DMG

 **50 VIT Bonus:** +300 HP, 20% decrease DMG against physical attacks

 **50 INT Bonus:** +500 CP, +30% Attack DMG with Jutsu

I love these 50 mark bonuses I get but I have so many points I haven't used yet; and I keep on getting more and more each year. Being a reset have some crazy perks. I'm not that strong despite my stats, really. I'm super proud of them, but when I heard that Yohio have close to 200 in everything I got kinda bummed out. And then I got to know that Taro got close to 1000 in everything I just realized how long I have left to go. Sure, they adjust their stats to their fighting styles, which I will do too, but why bother with luck? I guess it's to get better drops but other than that I can't come up with a good reason for the stat. _They all tell me I'm slow at making decisions. I just think of every possibility before I decide._

I hum softly, biting into my rice cracker as I tilt my head slightly. I've started to develop my own fighting style but I'm far from finished. I'll be more of a… One hit knock out fighter. Strong punches, strong hits, strong Jutsu to defeat my enemies as fast as possible without killing them. I guess if I'm going to be that kind of fighter I'll need a lot more health and stronger attack, which means VIT and STR increase, but I also want to be kinda fast. Not fast like Yuuto, but still fast enough to hit my opponents. I should at least increase my STR to see what kind of 50 perk I get from it…. So with that thought in mind, I cautiously add 5 points to my STR before I press the button 'save changes' below my menu. I'm pleased to see a notification window pop up to show I've gotten another perk.

 **Ding! Through your stats being a certain value, a perk has been created!**

 **50 STR Bonus:** 50% increased overall DMG

Sweet, more damage is just what I need. Since I mostly have physical damage right now, cause no one wants to teach me jutsus 'too early', Strength is really the only stats I have that count as my damage. Once I do get jutsu to attack with and not just transformation jutsu, I'll use INT as damage for it. Well… How much damage I do doesn't matter much in the real world, here HP don't matter at all from what I've heard, but it's in my ID worlds that it matters. Kinda strange, but I get it. It's there to not let us have a huge advantage over other ninja cause they can't drain our HP and it's merciful to us cause we don't have to drain the enemy's HP to kill them. Cause, really, stab someone through the neck and not kill them would be just strange.

But alright, now that's done. ….. Now what to do with the rest of my 67 points? I should add at least _some_ to Luck. It might give me more SSP scrolls if I do… I have 8 of them thanks to those entering my ID killing high level zombies and all of them would give me 5 SSP each. Maybe I'll get 10 SSP scrolls if I increase my luck; but I need more in strength. And wisdom…. Alright, I'll add 10 in each? No… No that sounds stupid, I need to adjust to my fighting style.

"What's wrong cherry?"

I can hear my father ask from behind me, making me turn around to look up at him. I didn't even notice him there… I gesture towards my opened stats window, a frustrated frown on my face.

"It's my stats, dad. I don't know where to put them all. I have 67 unused points and I should put them _somewhere_ but I don't know where! How do the rest of you have it so easy?"

Father chuckles softly as he walks closer to me, sitting down beside me on the carpet to take a closer look at my stats. He nods slowly, a wide smile on his face that shows off the happy wrinkles under his eyes.

"I see, I see. But Mio, no one said adjusting the stats would be easy. The rest of us have an even harder time deciding what to focus on since we don't get a Reset's bonus in stats."

He reaches over to gently ruffle my hair, chuckling softly when I glare grumpily at him for messing it up even if he knows I don't want it ruffled.

"I couldn't decide what stats to focus on until after I was Genin, because it was then that I knew how I wanted to fight. Have you figured out what fighting style you want to use?"

I nod slightly and lean against my father as I look back to my stats window. I have, kind of, but I'm still unsure.

"Well, Yeah. I want to be a heavy hitter. I want to be so strong with my attacks that my enemies won't dare to get back up again. I don't think I'll use that much throwing weapons, maybe as a distraction than anything, but I also want to be fast enough to dodge. And… Well, I'm also thinking if I should increase my Luck stats. Having some luck might increase the drop of rare items in my ID dungeons."

"Luck also gives you a chance of getting a jutsu scroll when you defeat another ninja."

He says calmly, making me twitch and aim a glare at him. Knowing that doesn't exactly make this easier for me to decide. Father gently guides me to sit in his lap and I promptly cross my arms to show I'm still displeased with him. Though… As soon as he start petting my head, I can't help but relax. Damn their ability to calm me down.

"Well, hearing you say it out loud, maybe you should focus on the things I have been too. I focus on Taijutsu and Ninjutsu but seeing as you're a reset you could work to the point of mastering both instead of being good at both like I am. If you're unsure about what stats to increase, just remember that all physical stats can be increased through training, but luck is a lot harder to increase…"

He point towards my feeble luck stat, his voice still soothing as he explain.

"I'd suggest increasing your luck to at least 30 to be of some use to you. Once you got around 30 in luck you can have it quite easy to gamble and increase the stat. If you're focusing on being a heavy hitter, Strength would be your best bet. With how much you love to read, I don't doubt that your intelligence will steadily increase along with it. Vitality would also be good, but it's more easy to increase than you think, just let people hit you."

"But getting hit is _losing_! I don't want to lose!"

I protest loudly, lightly tapping my father's leg as I listen. He's telling me some really good advice, I didn't think of all of that. This is why he's my dad; the best dad.

"But getting hit doesn't mean you have to lose."

He remind me gently, lightly poking my nose as a form of distraction to my anger trying to bubble its way up to the surface.

"When you spar against someone, you let your arms get hit while blocking hits, that's also a form of getting hit. It just means you have to make the spars last longer than perform a 1 hit KO that you love to use. Let them drag on and then defeat them, it's the easiest way to increase Vitality in the academy."

I…. Never thought about that. Wow, I've missed so many good opportunities to increase my VIT by finishing the fight as fast as I can; guess that's something I'll do then.

"Huh…."

I say softly in response, looking towards my stat screen once more. Alright then… I guess that kinda solves my problem. So with a confident smile, I start to add my points into my stats with father watching me. It takes a minute or two to figure out how much I should put where but I'm content with my final result.

 **Name:** Mio Masago **Class** : Gen 4 gamer **Age:** 6

 **Titles** : Prodigy child

 **Young child:**

all stats and EXP concerning physical properties will be halved until User reach age of 9.

 **Prodigy child:**

Removes any physical or mental limitations the user has for leveling up any skill or increasing stats. Gains +1 SSP (special skill point) for every cleared quest regarding showing off your abilities.

 **Zombie killer:**

Have greater chance at receiving rare items and gain double EXP from killing zombies.

 **Status:** Normal

 **Level:** 7 **EXP:** 1775/4900

 **HP:** 1430 **HP Regen:** 34/minute

 **CP:** 2940 (-11% chakra use) **CP Regen:** 112/minute (26% meditate = 141/minute)

 **STR:** 64 (+15%) = 73

 **VIT:** 43 (+35%) = 58

 **PE:** 131

 **WIS:** 41 (+13) = 54 (+22,5%) = 66

 **INT:** 53 (+13) = 66 (+38,5%) = 91

 **SE:** 157

 **DEX:** 42 (+9+9)= 60 (+43%) = 86

 **AGI:** 45 (+50%) = 67

 **LUK:** 30

 **Fame/Infamy:** 20/0

 **Unspent points:** 0

 **Money:** 46 580

 **50 AGI Bonus:** Increase the user's base running speed by 50%

 **50 WIS Bonus:** Increases chakra regeneration by 50%

 **50 STR Bonus:** 50% increased overall DMG

 **50 DEX Bonus:** 20% increased efficiency with weapons, 50% increased critical hit DMG

 **50 VIT Bonus:** +300 HP, 20% decrease DMG against physical attacks

 **50 INT Bonus:** +500 CP, +30% Attack DMG with Jutsu

I survey my stats one last time before I nod in satisfaction, pressing the 'save' button and feeling like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulder. Finally I know how to use them. I look back towards father with a wide grin on my face. _I hug them both, smiling softly. I'll be back…_

"Thanks dad, you helped me a lot. I think I'll focus on Strength, Intelligence and Dexterity. Cause Strength is damage, Intelligence is jutsu damage and Dexterity is critical damage. I'll mostly focus on INT increase through reading though and put stats in Wisdom for chakra regeneration!"

Father chuckle softly at me, ruffling my hair with a fond grin of his own aimed at me. His dark green eyes are sparkling happily at my little achievement and I can feel my whole body buzz loudly in happiness.

"Sounds like a good balance for you. And anytime, my cherry~. I'm always happy to help."

I nod and turn around more so I can hug him properly, letting myself relax completely as I snuggle up into his arms. These moments are the only moments where I enjoy being small… Where I'm safe in one of my parents arms. It's a nice feeling, something I didn't let myself enjoy in my past life. But in this one… Well I did say I'd live a life without regrets. And I'd regret it if I didn't take any time I could with my family to show a bit of vulnerability… Just a little.

"How long until I can go out and train dad….?"

He laugh loudly as if he expected me to ask this. I do miss training outside; inside is just too boring and I physically can't touch a door or a window without feeling pain up along my arm. Have no idea how Taro does it but I want out soon; maybe he too has that leader skill thing...

"Soon, Mio, it's tomorrow. Why don't you check in on the shop? You have a lot of money."

"...True. I'll buy the two funjutsu books that I need."

I nod slightly, still hugging my father. He resign himself to his fate as my cuddle dad and start petting my head. I'm very comfy where I'm sitting and I'm not going to move unless he complain about it. I'll read the funjutsu books tomorrow… Then I just need to figure out a way to be taught in Konoha. Cause Suna and Konoha aren't allies at this point, it's after the war… But I want my dragons… Eh, I'll figure something out eventually once the war is over. Maybe I'll be some sort of war hero and get privileges for apprenticeship. Only time will tell.

* * *

And that's another little 'filler' chapter to understand Mio as a character and see her progress. In next chapter, the third great ninja war is coming. I'm excited for it~. X3

 **This chapter's question:** Which instant dungeons should Mio be able to create in the future other than Zombie dungeon and Orc dungeon?

 **Review replies**

 **SnowCatt:** X3

 **The-Funeral-Pyre:** Yes, it's true that the EXP shot up for an unfair reason, but if they continued to have the EXP system they had before ID create ability and killed monsters to gain EXP they'd shoot up to level 100 in about a month or a little more than that. For 4 generations the Masago clan has gained EXP through doing quests, which was the main reason they picked up the work of mercenaries and ninja since it gave them more opportunities to gain EXP. Gaining skills is encouraged, yes, but when one of those skills change the whole EXP gaining system the rules need to change with it. The game ability and the Masago exist to amuse their Maker, but if they shoot up to level 100 within a short amount of time the Masago wouldn't struggle, thus not amuse the Maker. You could say the system itself is alive and shift accordingly to the skills the clan creates as Resets.

 **EmikoTsubasa:** Woah that's lots of reviews! Thank you. I'll reply to them in order. ^^

Chapter 1: It's great that you enjoy it, thank you. I'm working hard to create a captivating story.

Chapter 2: Oh, no no, Mio is nothing like I am. I don't know anyone in real life that's like her. X´D But I created Mio since I've never seen a character with so many personal flaws in a fanfic before, nor had I ever written that kind of character. So this story is more of a experiment for myself as a writer.

Chapter 3: Ah, yes no one wants to die. The questions I post at the end of each chapter is like an invitation for people to review and help me move the story forward. One person at the beginning answered that question to 'being shot' so I changed the story accordingly.

Chapter 4: It's okay that you're not too good at spelling, I can still somewhat make out what you want to say considering the context. Those are all good suggestions, flight and breathe underwater would be useful. However, those won't be needed as an SSP skill since using chakra a ninja can prolong their time underwater but I'll see about flight. I do have some ideas but in the end it she wouldn't choose flight as a skill since she'd have dragon summons to fly with.

Chapter 5: Again, I can tell what you want to say so that's ok. I've already chosen her summon, as stated in the question, and you should know by now that it's a clan of dragons that she's planning to bond with once she's finished a specific quest.

Chapter 7: Thank you for your suggestions. Fruits basket doesn't have any special abilities that Mio can use and I personally haven't watched black butler so I couldn't with good conscience include it in my story. I'm sorry.

Chapter 8: Thank you for your vote! ^^ And I'm really glad you're enjoying the story, truly.

Chapter 9: XD It was planned beforehand and I will have one of my close friends help me with the dragons she'll be connected to. But I'm glad you're happy with my choice. You'll see what kind of dragons she'll end up summoning, I won't spoil the reveal. Well it's very nice of her that she went out and bought something from a series you liked, even if it was the wrong order. She's making in an effort and that's really nice of her. My christmas was good as well, I didn't get any special presents this year but I don't mind it.


	11. Seven years old

Hello everyone! Another chapter ready!

This one is a little bit shorter than the other ones, kinda to move things along but also show some important things that happened during the first quarter after her seventh birthday. I hope you'll bear with me, the story is picking up in pace slowly.

Enjoy!

* * *

Seven years

The war is starting…

Father and his siblings got dispatched just yesterday to build up a front line of protection. I honestly had forgotten the time, feeling so safe within the walls of Suna that I didn't realize the war was getting closer. We're having a brief talk in school about the war, Karasu is still stuck with us and he's looking as bored and annoyed as ever while he explain the situation to us. Everyone in the classroom are tense as we pay attention.

"Alright, brats, it's war time again. So I'm going to explain what might happen from now on… first, no one is allowed to leave school grounds during school hours, there won't be any enemy ninja coming to the village but it's just a drill we have to keep you alert. There will be limited rations so your families won't be able to feed you as well as before, cause money go to shinobi instead. And if you're unlucky enough, you're going to be forced to graduate early and get sent out on the battlefield for message missions."

I think this is more of a scaring tactic than him actually informing us of what's happening. Why frighten kids this early? Is it to make them more determined to work towards better grades? For some it may have the opposite effect. He starts to draw up a hasty map of the elemental nations, circling two spots close to the Hi no Kuni borders.

"The battle is taking place in these two regions and we're not going to let them set a single foot into our desert. If they do, we still have our Shikaku that we can set loose. You kids don't need to worry as long as you're in the village, we'll do an emergency drill next week to make sure you all know what to do in case you need to evacuate. Again, we won't allow the fight to be taken that far in. So… Yeah. I'll keep you updated on what's happening cause I don't believe in the sugarcoating crap."

He look over the class slowly, a slight grin on his face at their uneasy expressions. I, however, am getting more determined. It's getting closer to canon in the story. I still have such a long way to go if I want to make a better ending and serve my village well.

"Keep on working hard in class, you won't be graduating before you're at least 9 cause we won't send out kids into the war unless we can do something about it. Study hard, keep on training and you'll do fine."

Once that is done, he start the history lesson like everything is normal while the tension in the classroom clearly shows it's not. I look around me, taking in everyone's scared faces; they're all weary of war since they've never experienced it before, only in our toddler years. They're scared of what they have to face. None of them have been mentally prepared for this like I have been.

I look to the front of the classroom to focus on Karasu without really listening to what he's saying. Should I speak up and show that I'm unafraid or no? … Nah, I'll let the kids freak out on their own. I won't reassure them in any way, that's like holding their hand which wouldn't make them a good ninja. I just have to make sure I'll be one of those who graduate early. I smirk slightly at the thought of having a jounin teacher teach me different high level jutsu that I can use. Since I'm a Masago I'm bound to get someone powerful; Suna want to keep their little prodigy alive after all, wouldn't want to stick them with someone who can't pack a punch.

Throughout the history lesson about the start of Sunagakure, I only listen with a half ear as I try to come up with plans on what I can do in the war once I graduate. I'll defeat ninja and get jutsu scrolls, prove myself strong to my village and rise in ranks. It'll be great~. I'll make sure to increase my stats as much as I can while I'm in the academy, knowing my skills I can never be certain when I'll graduate. Some questions are answered during the lessons before we're all dismissed for lunch. I stand up and make my way past the talking students around me, ignoring everyone with a slight frown on my face. But, before I can walk out of the classroom, Karasu stop me.

"Ah, Masago. Come to my office after school ends."

I stare at my blonde, clearly bored teacher with a raised eyebrow. But I nod, deciding that there's no harm in doing that. War in the world, talking to me in the office, might mean that I'm getting some kind of personal training to graduate and get sent out early; it might be fun actually.

As I make my way towards my usual lunch spot, Kurisu is quick to step up beside me looking as nervous as she always been. I've helped her a little with her confidence, enough so she speaks without stuttering unless she's nervous. She brushes away her black hair from her face, brown eyes flickering around us nervously.

"M-Masago, are you-... About the war…?"

"Worried?"

I guess what she wants to say, glancing towards the little frightened mouse. She's as small as I am despite being a year older and her form has always been kinda thin without any muscles. She shouldn't be sent out into the war; she should be backup if anything. I look ahead at the bench that I always sit on, pleased to see that it's empty and I won't need to kick someone off it. She still needs to work on her confidence, though I have to admit I've gotten kind of a soft spot for her...

"No. We're kids, they wouldn't send us out on the front line unless we got the experience. I've trained my whole life in preparation to defend Suna. If anything, I'm excited to prove myself."

I grin widely as I sit down on the bench, taking out my lunch box from my inventory while looking out over the school yard.

"It'd be the start of my journey towards being the best. Besides, if we get sent out it'd be with a skilled jounin, there's nothing to be really worried about."

That seems to calm her down a little when she sits down beside me and I can hear her carefully open her lunch box. When I glance towards Kurisu, she has a small smile on her face aimed at me.

"O-Okay… Next week my mom's gonna teach me the mystical palm. Do.. you want me to guide you through it…?"

"Well, it'd be nice chakra control if anything, but I'm not going to do any medical crap. I'll leave that part to people who care about it."

I take a bite from my fried veggies, staring out at the kids all gathered around in groups and eating lunch together. I can't wait to get out from this school… The war will let me graduate early, something I'm really thankful for. I have also unlocked all of the abilities from 'the gamer' and started on Fairy tail. I'm having a great time watching through that series, it's a lot of fun to see Natsu fool around. He's one determined but funny guy and I can respect that. Besides, dragon slaying magic that I can unlock? Yes please. Even if it's really expensive in points...

I frown more when the kids starts to leer at one another and start a game of ninja, that's something I refuse to be involved with; at least not with these brats. If I want to 'play' ninja, I'd do it with either my cousins or the zombies. After lunch it'll be ninja tactics then I can see what Karasu want. Maybe I'll move up a grade, that'd be good. Cause it feels like I'm not learning anything new in this class and we recently started a new term. I know the transformation Jutsu we're learning. I don't need more history since we're just repeating things anyway. Same with all the other theoretical studies, they're just wasting time at this point to give us something to do while we grow strong enough to graduate. It's stupid.

I wave off Kurisu when she asks me if I'd like to join, just getting angry at the thought of wasting my time on something like that with idiotic kids. So, I'll try and meditate the rest of the lunch break to look through Fairy tail some more.

* * *

"... I can what?"

I ask, dumbfounded by these news as I stare wide eyed at Karasu. My teacher roll his eyes at my reply, waving a small stack of papers in front of him. I… Did not expect this at all. Not so soon.

"If you meet certain criteria, you'll graduate at the end of the year. You're too talented to hide during the war and being out there will make you grow more. Besides, it apparently helps with some political shit I don't care to learn about. So? You up for it?"

I open and close my mouth a few times, wanting to answer yes immediately but- There has to be some catch. Political?

"W-Wait, what exactly are the criteria…? And what politics crap…?"

Karasu sighs heavily as if he expected me to ask this and lean back in his chair, acting as if he'd rather do anything else than this. I'm still trying to get over my earlier surprise and letting him talk will give me time to get over it and align my thoughts properly. I'm getting a chance to graduate so much earlier! To get out from this school!

"Well, first off you gotta know transformation, substitute and clone jutsu and one elemental jutsu, but your family can help you with that. Be able to hold your ground against a chuunin level opponent, since it's war time and you might bump into fights, and pass a written test."

He count on his fingers what he just said, nodding slightly as he focus properly on me again.

"Yeh, that's all. The Kazekage himself recommended your graduation along with your clan head, cause you've improved so damn fast. I don't know the debt of political shit involved, but you got Kazekage and clan head recommendation, congrats."

"Woaaah, the Kazekage!?"

I shout out loudly, hands clenched in excitement. Even the leader of the village can see my potential? Holy shit, that's so awesome!

"That's so cool! He knows of me!? I'm gonna work my fucking ass off, count on that! I'll know even more than what's needed, I'll be better! Don't expect me to come to the history lessons since it's just repetition, I'm gonna train!"

"Hey! You can't slack off on school just cause you gotta graduate!"

Karasu shout back at me angrily, pointing a finger right into my face. I twitch angrily at him and his rude attitude, he knows that it's just repetition!

"Oh buzz off, I'm not learning anything in theory! I help _Yuuto_ with his homework damn it, get off my case!"

I slap away his hand from my face, backing off towards the door with a two fingered salute towards Karasu. He's still my teacher and I still gotta be polite.

"Thanks for telling me, Karasu-sensei. But now I gotta use every time I got to train. Later!"

I then turn around to run out from the office, a wide grin on my face. I'll try to enter my zombie ID every day to level up, I'll increase my morning routine to double! I'll let everyone I spar with hit me more and evade, I'll finish develop my fighting technique with a bit of my father's and Sho's help!

"Get that language and attitude fixed, brat!"

I laugh at what Karasu shouts after me, turning around to stick my tongue out at him playfully from where he's standing in the door opening.

"Never, it's my charm!"

I then continue to run, exiting the academy and using my body flicker technique to rush home. I have to start training immediately! I can't waste a single second! And with my body flicker leveling up, I feel good enough to use it within the village. It's exhilarating to feel the warm, dry air rush past me and cool me down; I can never get enough of running at high speeds. And I'll be able to fly with dragons once I finish that funjutsu quest!

On my way home, I have to stop when I hear a 'ding' ring through the air around me. I look at the window that just popped up, feeling even more excited if that's even possible.

 **Pass the graduation exam**

Pass the graduation exam and become a genin, prove to those that recommended you that you're worthy of being a ninja early!

 **Quest requirements:**

Transformation Jutsu Lvl 10

Substitution Jutsu Lvl 10

Clone Jutsu Lvl 10

Genjutsu Lvl 5

Taijutsu Lvl 15

One D-rank jutsu

Pass the exam

Optional:

Create a funjutsu seal using your books

Quest reward: Rank-Genin, 400 EXP, 2000 Ryo, 5 SSP, 10 fame

Optional reward: 300 EXP, special trinket

Quest failure: -15 fame, wait with becoming genin until 9 years old.

[Yes] [No]

Of course I press yes! Karasu never mentioned genjutsu, lazy bastard, but I have my family to help me. Once that's done, I continue until I jump down in the middle of my compound, still grinning widely as I rush towards my house where mother is. I slam open the door, hastily taking off my shoes as I enter my home.

"Mom! Mom, you won't believe what happened today!"

I rush towards the living room where I can feel her smooth chakra, immediately sitting down on the sofa next to her, bouncing in excitement. My chakra is buzzing loud and happy with a family member near me; I still can't believe the Kazekage himself recommended me!

"What happened?"

She asks, amused and smiling widely at my excitement. It's rare for me to get this excited over something and everyone in my family, including me, really enjoy when I'm happy. Because then I don't complain about everyone and everything irritating me and can just focus on the happy buzz in my chest.

"Kazekage recommended me!"

I shout out gleefully, grabbing onto her arm and shaking it lightly.

"I'm gonna graduate at the end of the year! I'm gonna graduate mama! I'm too strong to stay in the academy and even the Kazekage knows it!"

Mother laughs softly, bringing me in for a hug and nuzzles the top of my head. I'm quick to return the hug, half lying on top of her as I snuggle up close to her. I'm trying to somehow share my happiness with her cause my chest is buzzing so loudly that I'm sure she's hearing it too.

"That's my Mio! I'm so proud of you, love. Does this mean you're going to train even more?"

I nod and pull back slightly to grin up at her.

"Yup! I'm gonna be outside and do my strength training! Will you call me in when dinner is ready? I also gotta tell Yohio! And Yuuto!"

She smiles at me fondly, lightly rubbing the top of my head and kisses my forehead.

"You do that, cherry. I'll tell you when it's ready. Go on and tell the others."

I give her a brief kiss on her cheek in return before I quickly stand up and run towards the door once more. I can feel her watch my back as I put on my shoes, feeling so happy that she's proud of me. I thought she'd be worried but I guess not! She probably knows how good of a ninja I am, just like the Kazekage! I shout out a last 'love you!' over my shoulders before I'm out again.

I let my chakra spread out for a second to feel where Yohio is first and he's not that far away from the compound. He's at the training ground with the lizards! Using another body flicker, I run towards him, rubbing my cheeks lightly cause they're actually sore from how much I'm smiling. My cheeks are sore, that- Oh wow, I wish I could feel like this every day! It's like that day I shouted my vows to the rainy heavens.

"Yohio! Taro!"

I shout out loudly when I land on the ground at the outskirts of the training area. Taro is standing over a panting and exhausted Yohio, the two most likely training for Yohio future role. Yohio is training to take over the clan so he's spending a lot more time with Taro. Politics, jutsu, combat, all of that stuff; nothing that I care about, I'm just getting stronger to fight. The two turn towards me as I run up towards them, both giving me smiles when they notice my excitement though Yohio's a bit strained with exhaustion.

"Mio. Did you hear any good news?"

Taro ask me lightly with a wide grin, obviously knowing what happened today. I just laugh and throw myself at my uncle, wrapping my arms around his waist. He recommended me after all!

"Thank you, thank you! I can fucking graduate!"

"Language…"

Yohio says lightly, straightening up and stretching his arms above his head. I can see the two of them share a content look between one another before I'm the center of attention again. The happy buzz in my chest just isn't stopping! I laugh as Taro pet my head lightly, a wide grin at Yohio.

"Oh screw you! I can say whatever I want. But I'm gonna be training super hard too! Watch out, I'm gonna catch up to you once you start your boring desk work! I ain't stopping~!"

I remove a hand from hugging Taro to point at Yohio, wagging my finger at him playfully. He just laughs tiredly at me, shaking his head in amusement as he wipe some sweat from his from his forehead.

"Dream on… I'm still going to be stronger than you. I'll just focus on other things than punch people in the face."

I let go of Taro so I can tackle Yohio in a hug too, not caring that he's sweaty or dirty, he just deserves a hug because he's such a great cousin!

"Yeah yeah with the politics crap, I'll never bother with that stuff. It's too tedious!"

"Just how chakra sensing is boring for me."

Yohio chuckle and gently pet my head in a calming motion. I nod to his words, feeling so happy and safe, I have no idea what I should do with all of these emotions! It's been so long.

"Aiko better fix up that Bo staff with Tonfa soon! Because I'm going to graduate!"

I pull away from the hug with Yohio, reaching up a hand to flick his forehead. He react as I suspected, by flinching back and covering a hand where I just hit him with a frown.

"And you mister better come to me if you feel like entering my Zombie ID. No matter the time, no matter the place, I'll always be willing to join you got it? You gotta come to me since I don't wanna bother Taro's training regime."

"Yes, yes, I will. Have you told the others yet?"

He huff softly in amusement, smiling widely at me with such warmth in his eyes. My chakra just keep on buzzing happily.

"Nnnnnope~! Only you and mama. But I don't have time to look for everyone, I gotta train! I'll tell them on Yuuto's birthday, that's soon right? I gotta fix him a present! But after training, yeh after training."

I nod along with my words, starting to plan in my head how I should steer up my days up until the graduation exams takes place. It's the 2nd month now whereas we started school the 1st month. Our school system is divided into four parts with a two week break between each term. During those breaks I can adjust my training schedule accordingly… It's at the end of the 2nd or 4th term that you can take part in the graduation exam but I'm allowed to enter into the 4th term exam if I understood Karasu right. I have a lot to learn… I gotta talk to Yuuto about the jutsus. And Aiko or the twins if they are in the village. Maybe Yohio and Taro if they have time, but I'm kind of limited on who can teach me with the war starting.

I snap out of my inner thoughts when I realise that I'm just staring dumbly into nothing, blinking up at a very amused Yohio and a patient Taro. I twitch slightly, cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment as I hold up my hands to try and dissuade them.

"Sorry about that, I'll let you train on your own, I'm gonna go to the clan compound."

I then give the two of them a two fingered salute before I turn away and jump up onto the top of a shinobi road with a burst of chakra. I'm so glad I can do that on my own without anyone helping me. I feel like such a badass.

Once I make it back to the clan compound, I don't waste any more time and start with my training exercises by running around the small track we have; It may be small, but it serves its purpose. I should actually run around the whole village, but this time I promised mother to stay in the compound so I will. I'm going to ace that exam, I will. I can't do anything less than perfect or I'd just be ashamed of myself. I've trained for years, I've read up any theory they have in school thanks to Yuuto, I have it easy to learn Jutsus. I _can_ ace the exam so that means I will. No exceptions.

Because I'm going to be the best in this whole village.

* * *

"How's the training going Masago…?"

Kurisu ask me nervously when she and I sit down on a pair of swings we usually occupy to trade ideas and techniques. Me and Kurisu aren't really training partners, since she has a completely different way to train than my version, and on top of that she's not that good of a sparring partner. So we never go to a training compound when we meet, just hanging out in a park while talking. I give her advice on how to be braver, reassuring her nervous thought processes, while she tell me different methods of chakra practice. It's an acceptable exchange, as long as I don't have to spend too much time with her. Then she just gets annoying.

I sway slightly on my swing, looking up at the blue sky as we talk. Looking at her would just make me irritated that she's still nervous around me despite how many years we've interacted like this.

"It's going well. I'm making progress at least. Setsuko taught me a genjutsu a few weeks ago, mirage, that I'm making progress on. Dad also came home long enough to teach me a fire jutsu, everyone says that element really fits my 'fiery' personality. I gotta agree with them though."

I chuckle softly, a slight grin on my face and nodding as I think of my family. I'm only two months into my training but it's going really well. While I've let people into my Zombie ID, I've gone off on my own to kill for EXP. Those eyes barely affect me anymore, I've seen them so often after all. I'm aaaalmost level 8, just a few zombies more and I'll reach it.

"That's great!"

Kurisu exclaim happily, making me glance at the girl beside me. She has a wide, happy smile on her face with a certain sparkle in her eyes. She look a lot less pathetic when she's smiling, more confident in a way.

"A-And I guess you'll learn substitution and clone jutsu soon…? If y-you don't already know them, that is…"

I frown in irritation when she shrink under my gaze, losing her earlier confidence as she tries to keep her tone of voice in check but she gets quieter at the end. I sneer when she flinch and look away so I reach over to flick Kurisu hard in the forehead. She cries out in pain and surprise at my action, holding onto her forehead and leaning forward in pain. This girl…

"How many times do I gotta tell you?! I don't get angry about what you say, but _how_ you say it! Get a fucking backbone already, idiot!"

"I-I'm sorry…"

Kurisu whimper out, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. I twitch when she look at me with those innocent, wide doe eyes of hers and quickly have to look away and control my temper. I pinch the bridge of my nose, taking a deep breath and let it out slowly to try and settle down my burning chakra. She's a doormat and will be absolutely trampled when I'm gone from the academy. A part of me feels bad for leaving her to the wolves that is the whole clan conflict but another part of me is glad that I don't have to deal with her pathetic self anymore. So many times I've told her the same thing but she just doesn't learn. What would it take to have her be confident in her own abilities!? Seriously, this girl is so fucking frustrating.

Once I've regained my temper to a better degree, I open my eyes to stare ahead and overlook the large sandy surface for kids to play on.

"How's that mystical palm going?"

"O-Oh! It's going well. I still… explode lizards sometimes but-"

I can't help but bark out a laugh, tilting my head slightly towards her as I grin towards the empty space in front of me. I really can't look at her too long, but she's said that she's fine with it.

"Explode!? Wow, I gotta learn it just for that. Imagine putting your chakra into a person's limb and it just BOOM! Explodes right off of them!"

I continue to laugh at the thought, my morbid humor shining through as Kurisu timidly shout that it isn't funny. I continue to amuse myself with drawing out different scenarios where an exploding medical jutsu would make it all so much worse by killing them while Kurisu continues to try and make me stop. It's all in good humor though, but I think a little bit of her lack of confidence stems from me joking over how everything can go so wrong. So… This time, since it's the last time I'll be able to see her until after my harder training regime of constant study in funjutsu and everything else for two weeks, I'll reassure her a bit. This time.

"But! None of that will really happen."

I snicker softly as I start to sway a bit more on my swing, grin shrinking down to a smile. I'm feeling a bit awkward over this… But it's the least I can do for how many chakra techniques she's helped me with.

"Because with your chakra control, you'd get so good that you can heal anything. And with my morals, I'd never use that against someone. So… Yeah. You'll get better and better. Until healing is like second nature to you, I mean. You won't fail, you're too good for that."

A quiet moment pass between us and I can feel Kurisu look at me with such intent… I really can't help myself when I turn to look at her, only to twitch at her expression. She has unshed tears in her eyes, eyes sparkling with such admiration that it's making me… disgusted? Angry? Flattered? I have no fucking clue but her expression is so hopeful and sad at the same time. Why is she showing so much emotion? Why is she crying so damn much?! Damn, this girl really has no way of taking care of herself, she's going to be a squashed mouse if she doesn't grow a backbone or two. What's with her and getting so emotional all the time anyway? It's not like I'm telling her the solution to the universe, I'm just telling the truth.

"Stop looking at me with those doe eyes, Sakyou! Stand up for yourself! Don't just hang after me and my words! You should scream out 'I will' with conviction, not stare at me like a dumbass!"

I scream at her angrily, leaning closer as I level her with a fierce glare. Kurisu let out a loud squeak, straightening her back slightly and close her eyes tightly to not stare at me anymore. This girl is just so weak and pathetic, everyone will eat her alive. I can't protect her forever, she gotta protect herself.

"I-I will! I w-will be the best healer!"

She scream out nervously, not that loud but she's trying.

"Louder!"

I command, standing up to face her. She needs to be louder, really get it out of her system. She can't stay like a mouse forever.

"Say it louder, scream it into my face!"

Kurisu flinch at my demanding tone, opening her eyes to glance uncertainty up at me. That uncertainty makes my anger flare up again but despite her being nervous, Kurisu stand up to face me. Her hands are trembling, but she's doing it. She's trying.

"I-I will be a great healer!"

"That wasn't what you said before, you won't be great! So what will you be!?"

This has turned into some sort of screaming match where I'm kinda coaxing her into speaking louder. She _needs_ to speak up. She clench her eyes shut and scream louder, head slightly tilting down towards the ground.

"I-I'll be the best!"

"The best what!? Tell me!"

"I'll be the best healer since y-you'll be the best fighter! I will!"

Getting some sort of confidence back, she open her eyes and stare at me with determination, something I rarely see in the little mouse.

"If you're gonna be the strongest I gotta be the best support! I'll work hard o-on my chakra so I can heal you!"

Kurisu pause to catch her breath, gazing straight into my eyes without any hint of fear. This makes a wide, proud grin spread over my face. She's _finally_ showed her goal, her conviction. I had no idea it was to become the best; that she has that as a drive to move her forward, but I don't mind it. At least Kurisu is someone I know doesn't have any bad intentions, and if she did she's a little mouse that can be easily swatted away. Kurisu takes a step back, eyes widening with a deep red blush spreading over her cheeks, as if she just realized what she said. She's just about to open her mouth, probably to apologize like the wimp she is, when I interrupt her.

"Yeah, sounds fair."

Kurisu flinch in shock at what I say and I hold out my hand towards her as a handshake. My grin widen at her confusion and I narrow my eyes slightly, she better not back out now that she's screamed it out.

"If I become the best fighter in this whole damn village, then you better be the best healer with how much time I've wasted on you. If you don't do your best, I'll fucking kick your ass."

Kurisu blink down at my hand with those wide brown doe eyes of hers, surprised and flattered from what I can see. She force a small smile on her face, hands shaking as she grasp mine in a firm grip. She nod slightly, shoulders hunching up uncertainly with the last burst of her confidence gone.

"I-I will… You can count on that…"

I snort softly at her soft tone, frowning as I remove my hand from her grip. Now she's back to no back bone… Seriously, this girl is gonna get eaten when I'm gone.

"Your attitude better get better after the break or I'm going to force you into a spar to train my jutsus. At least it'd give you good practice to heal your own wounds."

I finish off with a wide grin, flicking Kurisu's forehead one last time before stepping away. It's 16,34 and I was supposed to be home at 16,30. That screaming match just extended my time here a little.

"See ya, loser. You better not slack off… future head doctor."

Ignoring her wide eyed expression of surprise, I give her a two fingered salute before I activate body flicker to make my way home. My chakra is still burning in irritation over that girl and her pathetic attitude, but a part of me is excited that she'll be aiming to be the best like I am. Only, be the best healer. Maybe she'll be one of the few who aren't a pebble in the way… Maybe she'll be one who's helping me push forward. It'd be good to have a companion who's a healer, just as it's useful to have a friend who's a poison master. I'll make use of her once she too has graduated…

Not in a bad way use like every other ninja, no I'm a better person than that. But use in the way that if I have to go to the hospital, I won't let some stranger shithead touch me, only her. Because really, I hate doctors… Not that I think I'll ever end up in the hospital with my gamer body. But it'd feel better if I knew at least one person there. Even if that person can be kind of a spineless coward…

Now to get to Yuuto's party. Barely any of the parents are home except Taro, Emi and my mother because of the war. But at least all of the cousins are home and grandparents are well. I've heard that Sho and Setsuko will be sent on harder missions but I'm sure they'll do fine. After all, they're twins and can fight amazingly with one another. Dad won't come back until after three to four months so I got time to improve my fire jutsu and show him until then. It's kinda fun to burn a zombie to a crisp before it poofs, stinks a lot but it's still fun. I just hope my range increase as it levels up. Right now I only got 1 meter as range… Oh well.

I land in my compound, taking out Yuuto's present from my inventory before I approach Chiyoko and Gorou's house since that's where the party is. I hope he'll like the present. I also wonder if Aiko knows that I'll be able to graduate soon. Words usually spread like a wildfire in a ninja village but you never know.

* * *

There it is! She's going to graduate when she's 7 years old and be sent out into the war when she's 8. Such a fun life she has, but she kinda deserves it. Just so you all know, it's from this point on that things are going to get worse for her and I'm _very_ much looking forward to it.

 **This chapter's question:** Should there be sentient beings in her Instant Dungeon ability or just straight out mindless monsters?

 **Review replies:**

 **Emrys315:** Yes! I've been waiting for this kind of reply for so long! Thank you! XD You're absolutely right about EVERYTHING you said, Mio is not a good person but she refuses to see it. She always contradict herself in her actions and thoughts, she's a complete mess. I agree, she deserves a good beating. And trust me when I say that it's coming.

 **EmikoTsubasa:** Well of course I'd reply, it's my policy to reply to everyone. I use the name that you have on you fanfic account to make it easier for me to see how I should reply. ^^

I'm glad that you're enjoying my story. And be free to post your own stories with your own ideas, it's all up to you.


	12. Hard training

Another chapter out!

Sorry it took me so long to get this done, I recently moved into my own apartment and has been busy for the last few days. I'll be returning to my weekly schedule now on the updates. ^^

But now she's working on graduating! She'll join the war once she's graduated, of course, and she'll be able to properly affect the story.

* * *

Hard training

I'm punching at the training pole in front of me with fluid motions, each hit hard against the pole and cracking up both the wood and my knuckles in the process. But I don't care; despite the blood getting smeared over the post, despite the ache in my body I keep going. I keep on pushing myself to the best of my ability. I can't stop, I need to perfect this taijutsu if I'll be able to use it against a teacher on the graduation exam. I take a slight step back to breathe easier, stretching out my trembling fingers a bit. It's a lot harder to use this on unmoving targets… It's easier to use against zombies or real people; at least the style that I am developing. I should try and have someone help me with this but everyone else are busy with missions or their own training.

I clench my teeth together, running towards the wooden pole and jump slightly into the air to kick it hard with a roundhouse kick, not so hard that it'll break apart but hard enough to make a solid 'crack' ring out through the air. When I feel that I'm dropping momentum, I turn my body in the air to aim a second kick at the pole with my other leg. I then push away from the log, doing a small flip to land properly on my feet. Once I land on the ground, I quickly shift my momentum forward, jumping at the log once more but this time with punches. Left, right, left, right, always shift my momentum so that each hit are hard and unyielding.

Finally, after a little over a year of trying to come up with my own style, a notification ring out through the air as I'm letting myself take a small break. I smile tiredly as I read the window, legs and arms shaking slightly at the strain I've put myself through.

 **Ding! A skill has been made through a special action!**

 **Mio Taijutsu (Passive) Level 1 EXP 00%**

+A taijutsu Mio has created from a combination of her clan's basic taijutsu and the characters Natsu dragneel's and Ichigo Kurosaki's fighting styles. It deals heavy hits with fluid movements, not a single movement wasted and always shifting weights to deal the hardest hits.

+10% DMG and 5% Attack speed

+1% decreased DMG when blocking attack

+1% DEX, STR, VIT and AGI

 **Would you like to give your taijutsu a proper name?**

 **[Yes] [No]**

I laugh tiredly at the notification window, letting myself sit down and just breathe. As the skill is created, I can feel a new wave of information flood over me, giving me the 'right' way to do it and displaying how many flaws I had in my technique as I was developing it. This gamer ability is amazing; there's so much to my taijutsu that I missed before now, so many things I can do that'd make my fighting style even more fluid. I still have a long way to go; but at least I have a frame to follow thanks to my gamer ability.

I reach up and press the 'yes' button, hands still shaking as I think of a name for it. Well, I have no idea what I should call it. I can't just call it 'Mio taijutsu' though, that's too boring. Dragon dance? That sounds cool at least; and once I finish with this last Fairy tail power I could equip dragon slaying magic with enough points, that'd mix in well with this fighting style. Yeah… Yeah I'll go with that. So I slowly type in 'Dragon dance' as the name before I press confirm. The name of my skill shift to 'Dragon dance Taijutsu' and I smile proudly at it. Yeh, that's so cool. I'm going to be like a small dragon once I've gotten good enough at it. Small yet powerful.

I lie back on the ground after I've closed all the windows, staring up into the blue sky and panting heavily. A few clouds are starting to appear… Then it should rain within next week or something. At least it won't be as bad as last year's rain, this would be one that lasts a day at most. Damn I'm tired…. I've been working since 6am, now it's 11. That's... 5 hours of almost non stop workout. I really can't handle more than that; I've never done this long workout before. I let my eyes close as a wind blow over me, sand brushing over my bare and sweaty skin. I should be disgusted by this, that the sand is sticking to my sweat, but I'm not. It just is; sand is just as much of home as my house is. And I adore it.

I'm tan enough that I don't have to worry too much about the sun either. I can just lie here; take a break and just relax. It's 3 months left until the graduation exam. I've trained my genjutsu to the level it's needed as well as my transformation jutsu. I still gotta work on clone and substitution. My taijutsu is past the level it's needed, I got a D-rank-… The wind feels so nice… It's warm and- cosy… My eyes close and I succumb to darkness, something I haven't done in years.

I'm shaken out from my deep sleep by a unfamiliar voice calling out to me, but I have no idea for how long I've been asleep for. I slowly open my eyes, blinking a few times to get used to the light and see who's standing over me. I haven't seen this person before… It's a boy with dark red hair and a slight frown on his face as he's glaring down at me. Who-?

"Get up, you shouldn't be sleeping in the middle of a training field."

I blink a few more times before I slowly sit up. I can't help but wince as all of my muscles protest against me moving, being locked up from not stretching after my workout.

"I… was training…"

I mumble softly, tired as I flex my bloody hands and roll my shoulders to try and get rid of some tension. I'll need mom to give me a massage later, this is annoying as all hell.

"Wha the time…?"

I mumble, looking up at the boy with a tired frown. He seems familiar; but I can't really place how. The boy huff softly, crossing his arms with a frown still present on his face. It's like it's permanently attached to him… How old is he? Now when I look closer he's more like Aiko's age. And a flak jacket; jounin?

"It's past noon. A kid like you shouldn't train without supervision, where's your parents?"

I scoff loudly at his high and mighty tone, struggling to stand up on my shaking limbs. _I just get back up again, ready to keep going; I can't stop now…_ Huh, I haven't gotten a flashback in a long time. I steady myself, glancing up at the guy through my matted dark red hair. We actually have a similar hair colour; his is darker though.

"Where do you think? They're in the war. I have to train and- and get stronger…"

I take a deep breath, straightening up as I use chakra to fortify my limbs. With chakra running through me I don't feel as fatigued and my limbs stop shaking. With my strength returned I stare up at the older ninja with a deeper frown.

"Thanks for waking me up, but I came here first. So shoo."

"You're going to continue training like that? You can barely stand as it is, kid. Go home."

He says rudely, glaring at my bloodied knuckles with a slight shake of his head.

"Fuck no, I can't stop just cause I've reached my limit."

I shift on my feet, taking out a health potion from my inventory. It boosts my stamina and heals all wounds I have so it's really useful. I drink the whole bottle, face scrunching up at the bitter taste but I keep on drinking. Once the bottle's empty, the bottle poof away into smoke from my hand and I'm enveloped by a faint red aura. I don't care if he saw it, it's not really a huge secret in the village what can be obtained in my ID. I gag slightly at the aftertaste, stretching slightly as my body feels energized again and glare up at the guy again.

"See? I'm fucking fine and I can keep going. I have to practice."

The guy has a calculative look in his his face, studying the faint red aura around me. I brush off the dried blood on my skin, only to reveal that my scrapes have healed completely without any kind of mark. I really love my gamer body, though I kinda miss getting scars from hard work.

"... You're Masago. Mio Masago."

He says as if stating facts, which he really is. I scoff and roll my eyes at him, crossing my arms similar to how he's doing.

"Oh no, really? What gave you the idea? That I'm a kid, have fucking _glowing_ pink eyes or I have the Masago crest on my clothes? Of course I'm Mio. Now who are you?"

"Watch your tone, child."

He says sternly, not moving an inch with that calculative look still on his face. He doesn't look offended though, despite my heavy sarcasm. He seems like a chill dude but I can't be too sure, I don't really like the monotone way he's speaking.

"I'm Rasa, Jounin. And I still say that you should return home, that 'potion' of yours won't last you long. It deprives after an hour."

I don't let myself get affected by the knowledge of his name, at least not show it, as I bark out a laugh. Focus on the last part…

"For you normal ninja maybe! But this stuff heals a Masago permanently, This thing will last until I exhaust myself again. I know way more about it than you do, so don't talk about it as if you know better."

Holy fucking shit, this is Rasa the future fourth Kazekage what the fucking shit is he doing here shouldn't he be out in the war holy fuck I can't let this get to me I gotta play it cool but holy fuck its the future Kazekage!

"Again, watch your tone, child."

Now he's frowning more, uncrossing his arms as he stare down at me. He seems more annoyed than curious now, but it's too late to take back my words. Besides, saying something different now wouldn't be me. I just let my mouth run off on it's own to try and NOT freak out about the powerful individual in front of me.

"I have a name you know! Mio, M-I-O. Or do you think I'm so weak that I'm not 'worthy' of being remembered by the great jounin Rasa? I'm going to be graduating soon. And once I'm older I'm going to be stronger than anyone in this whole village. So you better _bet_ I deserve to be remembered by name."

I say without thinking, straightening up and meeting his gaze with a defiant glare. Holy fuck I'm challenging the future Kazekage!? What am I doing!? I don't let any part of my inner panic show, just glaring up at the older male. I can't back down, my mouth already ran off on me. Fuck fuck fuck. I have no idea how he- Fuck me, mouth always get me into too much trouble! Why can't I fucking _think_ before saying or doing anything!?

"Oh? That arrogance will get you nowhere _girl_."

He says, changing child to girl as if it's more of an insult. I twitch and bristle angrily at his tone, to which Rasa apparently relish in. I can feel the hot burning anger of my chakra in my chest, effectively distracting me from exactly who is standing in front of me. He's an arrogant prick? Well, with what he did to Gaara I can kinda see that, but how fucking _dare_ he look down on me like that!?

"Once you graduate you'll be sent out into the war. And there you'll see the vast difference between you and another experienced ninja. You'll die before you ever become the, so called 'strongest' that you strive to be. But I doubt you'll ever become that strong even if you survive."

"Oh yeah!?"

I scream out angrily, taking a step closer and raising a fist at the elder male. Now the burning feeling of anger is hindering me from thinking about the consequences, I just want to prove to him how wrong he is. I want to beat his face in with my fist.

"I'm stronger than any normal kid when they're 13! I'm not scared of some stupid ass enemy shinobi! I'll become even stronger than _you_ , mister high and mighty!"

"I highly doubt that, _girl_. A child like you shouldn't speak to their superior in that way. You'd be more suited as a backup than a front force, but even that would be stretching it."

His eyes narrow slightly at me, but I refuse to back down. He's insulting me big time and I won't let him just walk away before proving myself. He just feeds the fuel to the anger residing in my chest, making my whole body heat up at the pure _fury_ coursing through my veins.

"Okay then lets go!"

I cry out angrily, making some distance between us and taking out my tonfa from my inventory and shift into a fighting stance. I'm glaring hard at Rasa, whole body bristling in anger at his constant wave of insults aimed towards my ability. I'll fucking _show_ him weak girl…!

"Spar with me! I need to train against a moving target anyway!"

Rasa raise an eyebrow at me, not really surprised by my sudden deceleration.

"Spar? And what makes you think I have time to waste on some _girl's_ wishes?"

"Well you're obviously here to waste time, or you wouldn't still be talking to me! So let's go! I'll fucking show you how strong I really am!"

I point at him with one of my tonfa, ready to spring into action as I do my best to feel my surroundings through the burning hot anger inside of me. He's using gold dust, magnet release; it could appear anywhere even beneath my feet. Rasa sigh softly, shifting his posture slightly. I can feel his chakra seep into the ground and move towards me, making me thankful for my high level chakra sense and I shift my grip on my tonfa, ready to move once the chakra source get closer.

"There's no point in you even trying. You'll be defeated in mere seconds."

"Try me!"

I shout back, eyes narrowed in concentration as I try to pinpoint where the chakra in the ground is. 3… 2… 1…! I quickly jump to the side to avoid the burst of gold sand that sprung up from the ground under me, using the same momentum to shift my weight forward and shoot towards Rasa with my tonfa raised. I'm delighted to see his eyebrow raise slightly closer to his hairline, just before I swing a tanto at him that's easily blocked by his gold dust. It's really sturdy… damn it I don't have any lightning jutsu to nullify it. Fuck, I just want to punch him to show he shouldn't underestimate me!

I quickly move back before he has a chance of taking hold of my weapon using his dust, murmuring a soft 'Dragon fire' to activate my fire jutsu without hand seals and release the blast of fire towards Rasa. The range and power is halved when I activate a jutsu like this, but it's to serve as a distraction more than anything. Rasa easily dodge the stream of fire and I have to jump away as well to avoid another grab at my feet before I can take advantage of the distraction I made. I glance towards my chakra bar with my heart beating loud in my ears due to adrenaline, It's doing good… I grit my teeth as I focus back onto Rasa, seeing that he's completely calm and unemotional like he has the upper hand. Maybe he does have the upper hand but still! I'll get him eventually!

"I'm not such a 'weakling' am I!?"

I shout out, twirling my tonfa in my hands and charging them up with charka. It's a way to make them denser and deal more damage to my opponents, easy but effective. Rasa snort softly at my declaration, still frowning.

"You're still just a child. You have a lot to learn _girl_."

"Shut up, bastard! I'm still getting better!"

I quickly dodge another attempt at grabbing my legs with gold dust, very glad that I have my chakra sense to help me, and charge towards him with my tonfa held at my sides. I mumble a quiet 'clone jutsu' to activate the technique, creating two illusions of me running side by side. Using clone jutsu on command make the jutsu last only for a few seconds, but… I have no idea what I'm planning with this, I just want to take him off guard enough to punch him; I just move on instinct. I start in the middle but then I change place with the clone on my right using a quick replacement jutsu and aim a tonfa strike towards his head. That little distraction didn't fool him as I'd hoped and he easily block my strike with his hand, taking hold of my arm to lock it in place.

I grit my teeth angrily, twisting around in his grip to kick at him, but Rasa just block this too and hold my two limbs steadfast in his grip. With my left arm and right leg restrained, I use his hold on me to my advantage as I aim a kick towards his chin with my left leg. But before I can even move my limb, it's restrained by gold dust wrapped around it. I tremble at the strain as I try to move, teeth grinding hard against each other while I aim a livid glare at Rasas blank face. He's strong… But I'm not going to give up…! I'll fucking show him that I'm not some normal _girl_ with average scores and abilities!

"Had enough yet?"

I just punch at him with my right tonfa as a response, determined to hit him one way or another! But this is also stopped in its tracks by his gold dust, encasing my upper arm and stopping my arms movement just a centimeter away from between his eyes. Fucking hell, this bastard is impossible to hit! I twitch when he start twisting my leg in an uncomfortable angle but I just snarl at him; I won't back down…!

"I- I'm not some... some _girl_! I'm not just some _kid_! I'm Mio Masago. And I'll- I'll prove to you that I'll be the fucking strongest in this whole village! Don't fucking underestimate me!"

He doesn't look amused by my vow, simply letting go of my right leg and punches me hard into the gut before I get any chance to react. My stomach and lungs are burning from the hit and my breath is knocked out of me due to his fist aiming for my diaphragm. As my body grows limp at the lack of air, I can feel his gold dust pull back from restraining my limbs before Rasa still holding me up in front of him kick me hard in the side to have me fly away from his grasp. I tumble across the ground from the harsh hit, coming to a stop on my back after at least two flips from the raw force of his kick.

My whole right side is hurting now too added with my stomach and lungs, causing me to instinctively curl up while holding my side in pain after my tumbling over the ground has stopped. Fucking ow, that hurts… My lungs are still burning from the lack of air, body hurting like I've had a car rammed into my side, but I force myself to slowly get up on my knees while holding my stomach and side. Body trembling, I lift my head just enough so I can glare at Rasa; he's just standing there with his arms crossed. I can faintly see the countdown for my debuff 'winded' is counting down slowly as I'm still struggling to stand up. I've been winded two times prior… And no matter how many times I experience it, it never really gets better.

"Why do you keep on trying? It's useless, girl."

Rasa frowns at me, slightly frustrated or exasperated if I am reading his tone right. My gaze is wavering slightly due to my lack of air but I just grit my teeth and snarl towards him. I dropped my tonfa and they're now lying by his feet… But I still have my fist, I can't back down. After a few seconds of struggling, I stand up slightly bent over in pain as I shifting into a fighting stance once more. My side is throbbing in pain, but I ignore it all as my debuff has disappeared to let me breathe properly. The debuff lasts for 7 seconds but I wish it could end sooner every time.

"S-Shut up, old man. Like you'd know about conviction… I won't stop- until I get to punch your face! I'm strong, damn it!"

"No good huh..?"

He asks boredom, closing his eyes as if resigned. This causes me to grit my teeth angrily, he sees me as no threat at all…! I jump forward to attack him again, using my recently made Dragon dance taijutsu to full practice. It'll be easier to use it on a moving target. I can feel myself get even more annoyed as Rasa is blocking all of my strikes with seemingly no effort at all; anything I try to do he's one step ahead of me. I try to surprise him with a body flicker and any small trick I've come up with so far but even that doesn't work. I'm getting increasingly frustrated as the fight goes on. I just want him to shift from that neutral expression of his and punch him!

The fight ends before I can even process it, as if Rasa wants to really display the huge difference in power level between me and him. He counters one of my punches with a knee to my stomach while keeping me in place by holding onto my arm. A similar strong force collides with my chin, making me almost bite my tongue off with the force of my teeth slamming shut. I can see sparks behind my closed eyelids as he just hit me again, this time in the cheek hard enough to make me once again fly back a few meters. Or what I presume are a few meters with how long my back slides along the ground. Now I'm very thankful that I always reinforce my body with chakra or I'm sure I'd have been worse off.

I cough loudly, gripping onto my stomach as my whole body is aching from the hard hits he dealt in one quick succession, my body relaxing as if he just physically hit the anger away from my system. Fuck he's strong… No wonder he'll become Kazekage someday. I force one of my eyes to open, lifting my head just enough to aim a weak glare towards Rasa. My vision is blurry from unshed tears and lack of oxygen in my lungs, but that won't make me falter; I don't give up so easily! I'll stand back up, I'll get back up soon to punch his face..! Despite the drive to beat him, my body refuses to move from its crumpled position.

"Stubborn girl… You've lost this 'sparring match' two times now. How long do you intend to keep on losing?"

I slowly turn over to my left side, the side that's hurting the least, with my whole body trembling simply from turning around. My everything hurts, especially my stomach and jaw… But I can't give up..! I will prove to him that I'm strong! I can and will achieve my goal, he won't make fun of me!

 **Ding! Your physical endurance has leveled up!**

 **Your VIT has gone up by 1!**

Shut up I don't need that shit right now! Still on the ground, my limbs are trembling as I force myself to stand up once more. My whole body is aching from every movement, but I can't let that stop me; I have to stand up! I have to show him to not look down on me!

"As- As many times… It takes for m-me to _win_."

I say proudly, flinching as I force my body up onto two feet once more while supporting most of my body weight on my shaking knees. I need to stay strong; I need to be consistent. I can't lose- I won't lose! I won't lose my determination to win just cause he's more powerful than I am. There's always a way... I will get his recognition! I _am_ strong! I can feel blood gather up in my mouth as I glare fiercely at Rasa and I spit it out, quickly running my tongue through my mouth and discover I've cut open the inside of my cheek from that blow to my jaw. That bastard…

"I'll fight over… and over. Because you think- think I can't make it… Then I'll fucking prove I can!"

I snarl angrily at him, ignoring the drops of bile, blood and spit dripping down my chin as I once more shift into my fighting stance despite the pain in my body. Rasa is just staring at me without any emotion present on his face, unimpressed if anything… He's looking down on me as a person and a ninja. I won't allow that; I'll never allow that!

"I'll beat you... Not now- but one day I will! And then- then you'll be _forced_ to recognize my strength!"

Not even that makes any type of emotion shift on his face as he just... stares. I can hear him let out a soft snort, shaking his head as he start to turn away from me. He tilt his head back slightly, his chin up as he's looking down at me in all the ways a human can look down on someone. It makes me clench my fists harder, the slight movement causing pain to shoot up into my abdomen.

"That day won't ever come, girl. That's a dream that you'll never be able to acquire… Because I'm aiming to become the next Kazekage, that is the person who's the strongest in this whole village. You will never reach the power level of a Kazekage, I can guarantee it."

With that said, he turn and walk away from me. So he's already planning on being a kazekage? It was around this time that the third got killed and Rasa got appointed, during the war. But to say that I'll never be able to reach that level of power- that's just arrogant and a bullshit move. I'm not tied down by fate or destiny; I can create my _own_. Despite my whole body screaming in pain that I should just sit down and _rest_ , I take a few steps in an attempt to follow him but I'm forced to stop as my legs almost give out underneath me. So instead, I scream out in defiance towards his retreating back.

"Oh yeah!? Well that's just a better goal for me then! I'll beat you one day Rasa! And on that day, you better recognize me as the strongest! And I'll be able to tell you 'I told you so'!"

Rasa just continue walking away, his posture completely relaxed as if he never heard me. It isn't until he's out of sight that I let myself relax, sinking to the ground and coughing up bile, spit and blood that's still stuck in my throat. Ugh, that bitter potion taste way better than this shit. And I missed lunch, mother gotta be really worried about me right now. Fucking hell, I'm a complete mess; he threw me around like I was nothing to him.

I take out another potion from my inventory, having a huge stock of those from the many times I've entered the zombie ID and let others train in it. I chug it down and let it heal all the aches in my body I got from fighting Rasa and honestly relieved that the bitter taste wash away the taste of bile and blood. When the bottle is consumed and I wipe off the disgusting slob on my chin and to my best to shake the mess off my hand. Once my body isn't an aching mess anymore, I let myself really think of what happened. …. Holy fuck, I just challenged the future fourth Kazekage to a fight. I basically made him my end goal opponent…! … Fucking hell, I'm more badass and crazy than I ever gave myself credit for.

 **Ding! You got a quest!**

I frown slightly at the notification window, still annoyed over my obvious loss, and then look at my newly acquired quest window. My eyes widen slightly as I read it, jaw dropping at the pure delicious reward I'd get from it. No fucking way…

 **Beat Rasa!**

You've just declared Rasa to be your end goal to being the strongest in the village. Prove to him that you're strong and that a girl like you deserve his recognition!

 **Quest requirements:**

Defeat over 100 enemies

Master 30 Jutsu

Defeat Rasa

Quest reward: +10 fame, 10 000 EXP, 70 000 Ryo, Legendary jutsu scroll

Quest failure: Rasa will never recognize your strength.

[Yes] [No]

Legendary jutsu sign me the fuck up! And that much EXP! Holy shit, that's such an awesome reward! I immediately press yes, getting even more determined to prove myself as I stand up with my anger and annoyance forgotten for now. I'll attack him at any moment I got, someday I'll take him by surprise! I'll continue to try even if I haven't completed the first two requirements. Now as a kid I can't match his physical strength. But soon, soon I will. I'll continue to work hard!

I stand up, shaking off the slight dizziness that comes with it and call my mother on the party chat while making my way home. I'm going to punch Rasa in the face one day for calling me a failure like that… She is quick to pick it up, sounding frantic and worried from how long I've been gone from home.

" **Mio! Thank the Maker you're ok. Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!** "

"Sorry mom. I accidentally fell asleep after training this morning. But you won't believe what happened; do you know who Rasa is?"

I say sheepishly, still jogging through the streets towards my home without using body flicker. Sometimes it's nice to just jog and it's easier to talk while not focusing on the jutsu.

" **Rasa…? Isn't that the man who learned the Kazekage's technique from just observing it? I've heard that he's a very smart man.** "

"Yeah, yeah, that guy. You see, I got him to spar with me. And now, I've gotten a quest to beat him! And I'm determined to succeed one day!"

I start to grin wider as I can imagine her expressions as I tell her this. I'd have waited until when I got home, but then she'd have been a lot more stern with me. I can hear her sigh loud and tiredly on the other side of the link and I imagine she's placed a hand over her forehead. I'm determined and excited, she knows there's no way to talk me out of this one.

" **Mio… You can't pick fights with everyone who underestimate you. We've talked about this.** "

"But mom, I couldn't just stand by when he was insulting me to my face! So we fought and now I'm determined to beat him one day. Cause I WILL beat him! He may have beaten me today, but I'll win one day!"

" **Oh Mio… Yes, yes, you'll beat him one day… But just make sure you get home, alright? You've missed lunch and it's close to dinner time already. I'll make you a little snack later in the evening ok?** "

She says with fond exasperation in her voice, to which I find myself smiling widely. I have the best mom who can accept me like she does; I have no idea how bad I'd have gotten if my parents were as strict as Yuuto's parents, Ichigo and Daisuke.

"Ok, sounds great, mom. I'll see you soon! Love you~."

I ignore the glances I receive from a few kids playing on the road that I run past, they'll get used to us Masago as they grow up like the rest of our village. I've gotten used to the looks I get from being weird or different apart from other 'normal' ninja.

" **Love you too, my Cherry.** "

I then end the call, focusing on jogging towards the compound. Another successful day at training… After food it's funjutsu study and later chakra control practice with meditation for memories during night time. I'm making great progress so far, I still have a lot to work on but I'm certain that I can make it in time for the exam; I will make it. I'll ace the exam, become a part of the war to be stronger and defeat Rasa to prove I'm the best in the village! Heh, beating a Kazekage. Now that'd be something to boast about! I wonder if the fame points will go up if I beat him when he's received the Kage position.

* * *

I'm watching my prey carefully, eyes narrowed in concentration while I still pay attention to the energies around me. I do my best to ignore the constant 'klirr' sound from when I receive money by the zombies that the team of chuunin are killing on the other side of the village. We aren't scheduled to reassemble at my clan compound for another hour, so I still have plenty of time to get more EXP. I have to level up my substitution jutsu one more level to meet the criteria for graduating; clone jutsu is good so it's only that one left. I jump to another roof to get closer to my target, infusing chakra into my feet to make my steps quieter. The zombie doesn't notice me, of course, but this is more for practice of hiding my presence than anything else.

The zombie I'm hunting is a Level 10 zombie, alone and slowly walking down the streets of Suna. I'm sure that I can take it on without my cousins with me; I'm very sure of it. If it shows some sort of unique ability, I've saved before I started stalking after this zombie so I have my fail safe. I haven't died yet, and I don't plan to, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I jump across to another roof, staying silent as the night while I follow the zombie along its route. This is a good way to level up my stealth and the soft paw technique; I'll need it for the war.

 **Ding! Your Stealth has leveled up!**

Nice, just what I wanted. I ready my bo staff when the zombie stumble into an empty alley and I quickly jump down to land silently behind it. I jab my bo staff into the middle of it's back hard, eyes narrowed in a determined glare.

 **-146 HP!**

I don't stop my momentum to let the zombie react, using the element of surprise to my advantage; I hit it hard in the head, throwing it into a wall and quickly follow it by another hit to its stomach.

 **Worst critical point -493 HP! -146 HP!**

I have to jump away when the zombie's claw swipe at me, putting a bit of distance between us. The zombie ninja draws out a kunai from it's pouch and charge at me with a loud, hungry moan. While my attention is focused on the zombie, I continue to spread out my senses to make sure this one won't get any backup; I might be able to handle them alone but more than one and I could easily be overwhelmed.

I twirl my bo staff around, hitting away the zombie's wrist before the weapon can come in contact with me. I use the other end of my bo staff to hit the zombie hard in it's chin, forcing its head up towards the moonlit sky. I follow up with a hard kick against the zombie's abdomen to force it at mid-distance one more.

 **Worst critical point -493 HP! -132 HP!**

I glance towards the zombie's HP, noting that it has only little over 200 HP left. I spring forward, shifting my hold on the bo staff to slam it down hard on top of the zombie's head to finish it off. With that last hit, the zombie disperse into smoke, making a 'klirr' sound at the added ryo and letting a potion and zombie hand drop.

 **You gained 80 EXP and 203 Ryo!**

I still have no idea what I should do with the zombie hands. I crouch down and touch both, letting them fade into my inventory like they usually do. I should try and kill higher level zombies with how easily I can take down level 10 ones, but a part of me is still unsure. They have dead light eyes and despite the fact that I've gotten better, I can still be affected by it from past memories of guilt. I don't want to risk too much just because I got too greedy for more power.

I sigh as I step out from the alley, stretching slightly with a quiet groan when I hear my joints pop. I still got a lot of time to kill; I should look for more solo genin zombies to beat, they're kinda rare since they travel in groups of 3 but I really shouldn't take on a team without my cousins. So I jump up onto the roof of a house next to me, silently making my way towards a small group of weaker signatures I can feel nearby. This chakra sense is really handy to find opponents with, I'm very glad chakra sensing has become a sort of coping mechanism for me. Once I arrive at the group, I see that all of them are level 10 and 11 ninja, a group of 6 which is two teams… I shouldn't risk it, at least not yet; I'll observe them for 15 minutes tops and see if they split up or not.

As I'm in the middle of stalking the small group, I can sense a huge flare of chakra coming from the middle of the village. My eyes widen in surprise and confusion as I can feel the fake nature chakra in the air gets pulled in that direction as well, leaving nothing of the fake chakra behind. The zombies I was stalking fall to the ground, having the majority of their energy drained as well and rendering them unable to move. It's all being sucked in to one single point… This- This is really bad. This cannot be good in any way.

I use a body flicker to rush towards the center of the village despite my own rule to not step into jounin territory when I'm alone. I need to find that group of chuunin and fast, this can't be anything other than this world's boss! I'm such an idiot, every stage has a boss, I should've realized it'd appear sometime! Fucking damn it this is bad, this is really, really bad; I have never met a boss before so I have no idea how strong it can be!

I'm having a difficult time with finding the group of ninja with my chakra sense, the range of my ability and the huge beacon of chakra on top of the Kazekage tower is proving to be very distracting. When I'm forced to exit my body flicker due to its low level, I direct my eyes towards the top of the tower to see what's happening. I can feel an ice cold pit form in my stomach; not panic or dread, but heavy sense of unease. All that chakra is being centered in one single point and is gathering into some sort of visible, dark chakra mist. This-this is bad… this is really bad, I need to find them fast.

I focus forward again, pushing my body to run as fast as I'm able to go. Why did they have to be so far away?! I know we went different ways to not interfere with which zombie we hunt but now is a really bad time for this! Chuunin class all four of them, but that chakra that's gathering- it's Kage Level or beyond! It's still getting stronger! None of us can handle this kind of opponent... I spare another glance towards the Kazekage tower as I'm running along a shinobi road and I can see a faint outline of a person gathering within the mass of wispy chakra. That thing is so fucking powerful already…!

It's heavy and dense; having drained all chakra that existed in the air as well as the surrounding zombies, it's understandable that it's gotten so compressed to fit inside one single form. I can feel and see the dark tendrils of foul chakra stretching out from it, wavering in the air like terrifying tentacles that could kill anything it touches. The dark chakra within this form is flickering, flickering in the way that any resets from my family does. No fucking way, it has all elemental affinities?! Fuck fuck fuck we can't handle that kind of opponent, we all need to go fast. I just hope I'm fast enough to reach them!

I let out a cry of surprise when I trip over a small bump on the road that I really should've noticed, sliding against the shinobi walkway due to my speed and getting the wind knocked out of me in the process. Damn it I was too distracted by the boss that I didn't pay attention to where I was going! I ignore the pain in my knees and arms, pushing myself up to my feet with a slight stumble to keep going. I glance down at my countdown for being able to use body flicker again, watching the counter go down with that cold pit of dread still in my stomach. Come on, come on… 2… 1…!

I disappear into body flicker and make my way towards the chuunin once more, but not before I can feel the boss disappear in a similar way from the Kazekage tower. I curse loudly when I can feel it approach the team of Suna ninja much faster than I am able to and I grit my teeth angrily, why is it going towards those guys!? If only I was faster… I need to be faster!

"Swift agility!"

I cry out to increase my speed by 100%, it being an ability I got by leveling up my running skill to level 25. I had almost forgotten about it in my rush to get to my comrades! The chunin are sticking together and I can hear them fighting the boss as I'm getting closer to them. I appear in the middle of the road with a nervous frown on my face, landing crouched down from having jumped the rooftops here while looking towards the team of ninja. And then….

 _Blood…_

My eyes widen in horror as I watch the shadow surrounded creature easily kill one of the chunin by cutting off his head with only its hand. I do my best to shake away the memories of my past that tries to arise, eyes wide and mind reeling to come up with something, _anything_ that can stall this thing. I don't have time to unlock a special skill...! I don't have any kind of binding or good genjutsu!

I put away my bo staff into my inventory, running through the hand seals needed for dragon breath jutsu as fast as I'm able to and blow the stream of fire at the creatures back; to give the other ninja some sort of distraction and have the thing focus on me instead. I have a fail safe, they don't.

 **Super effective! -576 HP!**

Ok that's good to know, fire is something it's weak towards. I didn't think this through properly when the thing just charge through the flames straight at me with its hand raised. I can barely see what it looks like through the dark shadow aura surrounding it and the speed that it's traveling in. But it's- its wearing a Kazekage robe and a Kazekage hat. It's only thanks to my enhanced speed that I manage to dodge the hit towards my throat, the sharp chakra only causing a small wound on the side of my neck instead of cutting my head clean off my shoulders. I suck in a harsh breath at the stinging pain from my wound, it's most likely deeper than I imagine, and just let my body _move_ ; I kick the thing into its side as hard as I can, infusing as much chakra into my limb as I'm able to so much that it hurts.

I don't let myself react to the way the thing is launched through a building wall from my kick. I don't let myself bother about the sickening crack sounding out through the area that indicates my broken leg from the amount of strain I put it through. Nor do I care about the searing pain running through my body and chakra from the impact. I just use my still intact leg to shoot myself towards the group of chuunin gathered close together. I tumble headfirst into the man in the middle, clinging onto him to not fall down to the ground and as a way to ground myself to reality.

"Grab onto me!"

I scream out loudly, eyes closed tightly with tears starting to gather in my eyes. Adrenaline is still rushing through my veins, making me unable to feel the full extent of pain from my broken leg. As soon as I feel hands settle on both my shoulders, I scream out 'ID escape!' just in time when I can feel the boss launch towards us once more with it's sickening chakra reaching towards us. I sag in the grip of the chunin when I feel the nature chakra I'm used to, the nature chakra I've grown up in and away from that cursed place.

Then the dam breaks….

The rest is a flurry of sounds and colors as I let myself feel again. Those dead eyes of the chuunin keep on staring at me as the head is flying through the air, accusing me of his death and for not being fast enough. My broken leg is making my whole body burn like I'm on fire and any movement draws another cry of pain from my throat. I can vaguely register myself gripping onto my hair and apologizing. Apologizing over and over again like a broken record while I continue to cry cry and cry. Apologizing for being weak, for not being strong enough to protect them, for not seeing it sooner.

I can feel a calming chakra seep into my head and then everything turns black…

* * *

A bit of an reality check for her this time, not everything can be a walk on roses. All abilities have some kind of setback in the long run, no matter how useful it is. So her first boss encounter, they're very dangerous and with her current level they could kill her immediately.

She needs quite a few more reality checks to really become a better person, she's getting there but not yet. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far!

 **This chapter's question:** Is there something bad or good you want to happen to Mio as a character development thing?

 **Review replies:**

 **hiareportsyou:** I didn't know about the two fingered salute, but it'd kind of suit Mio's personality in that case, no? XD It's just a way for her to greet people and say goodbye to people. Thank you for sharing!

 **cupcake:** Thank you! She's not the best person, no, so it's understandable. ^^

Alright, thanks for sharing your opinion. X3

 **EmikoTsubasa:** No worries, thank you for your opinion. Demon ID is certainly something I've considered. ^^

Yeah kind of that sentient, be able to communicate with her. I've been getting some ideas for it and wanted to know what others think about it.

Not really, I mean I post my stories for my own sake, to get feedback on my writing and world building as well as have some sort of goal to work towards to keep me going. I don't post stories to become famous, I post stories because I want to share what I love and have written. Writing stories have also been a great way for me to improve my English, both speaking and grammar, so it's really up to yourself what you want to do. If you write for yourself or write for others, it doesn't matter. As long as you're having fun while doing it.

 **Jotitoboy:** Juss, thanks for your opinion.

I don't know about Nawaki either, I'm pretty sure he died kinda early on. Nawaki got the necklace, died, then Dan got the necklace and died in the third war. I think Nawaki died before the third war if the timeline are supposed to fit so I don't think she'll have any opportunity nor time to save Nawaki.

The teacher has already been chosen as there has been politics involved in her graduation more than anything else. ^^ But thank you anyway!


	13. How to fight on

Another update woop!

Sorry I couldn't update sooner, I thought it'd be ready before I went to visit my friends but I didn't have time for it. But now it's done! So after her ID trauma, she wakes up in the hospital~. Let the first reality bomb commence.

 **This chapter has gotten changed since it first got posted, due to plot demand it needed to be changed.**

* * *

How to fight on

My head is throbbing, making me dizzy and unable to focus on anything around me. I can feel myself lie on something soft, a bed? My hands twitch and I clench my hands around a familiar fabric, thin sheets, but why am I lying on it? I usually sit on my bed… But yes, I'm lying in a bed for some reason. I force my eyes to open so I can see because at the moment I'm way too dizzy to use my chakra sense. There's a sandy ceiling hovering above me, even with my blurry vision I can recognise that light brown surface. I'm inside… But inside where?

Like a punch to my head, the memories of what happened in my ID flood back to me, making my whole body tense up and breath get caught in my throat. Blood… dead eyes... shadow… Powerful...! I sit up quickly, ignoring how my vision blackens briefly at the fast movement as I try to steady myself to stay in the present. The shadow creature, that Kazekage wrapped in shadows! Where am I? Is it still after us!? Where are the chuunin!? Before I have the chance to stand up and run after them, so certain in my mind that they're still in need of my help, a large and warm hand settle on my shoulder to my right. With my still blurry and slightly blackened vision, I can't see who or what it is; it could be anything, I can't hear either with the loud ringing in my ears. It's burning warm, it's unfamiliar and large, it has to be the thing!

Acting on instinct towards the unfamiliar entity, I lash out towards my right side with a kick to try and get it away from me. It's them, it has to be them! I can't let them kill anyone, I can't let it kill me, I need to find them first! They need my help or they're trapped! My throat feels raw for some reason and it takes me a while to realise that my mouth is moving to form words, no, screaming loudly at something. I'm still not sure what's happening, where I am or what touched me, but it's foreign and can't be good at all. I can't comprehend what I'm screaming or what I'm doing, It's all a blur in front of my eyes as more hands grab onto me to try and hold me down; but I continue to struggle against it all. It'll kill me too…! I don't want to die! I don't ever want to die again! Purple and a soothing chakra suddenly flood my system.

I freeze up as I manage to register this, latching onto this knowledge as I start to focus on the purple colour in front of me. I'd recognise those neon purple eyes anywhere; he's here… I find myself relaxing thanks to the chakra in my system and the knowledge my family is here to protect me as I just stare into Yohio's eyes, my heart is beating loud and fast in my ears while the ringing slowly starts to subside from my earlier panic. I can't bring myself to look away from his eyes, worried that I'll be alone and get decapitated like that chuunin was because of my mistake. Those dead eyes are still accusing me within my mind; accusing me of killing him. But Yohio's are so gentle and warm, such a huge contrast to the haunting images in my mind that I'm desperately latching onto.

"-s ok Mio. You're safe, you saved them. Calm down, please, there's no reason to be scared anymore"

When my ears clear up, that's the first thing I can hear as he's speaking in front of me. I'm filled with such _relief_ … I hadn't noticed it before, but I can feel thick streams of tears slide down both of my cheeks, body shaking and snot running down my nose in the most disgusting way possible. I continue to cry for a different reason as Yohio tells me this, crying out my grief for losing one of them but still so relieved that I'm safe; that I'm alive and far away from that shadow. I can faintly register the restraints being let up on my person, but I pay no mind to it as I only focus on Yohio who's in front of me. My voice is raspy and my throats hurt when I speak, but I need to know.

"Did- Did I get- g-get in time…?"

I let out a soft cough after I've spoken, holding onto my throat as I instinctively close my eyes from my reaction. I quickly open my eyes again, with one hand holding my throat as some sort of band-aid while my other finds Yohio's arm. I don't want to look away from him, I don't want to look away from his eyes; I need to see them or I'd just get lost again.

 _Blood-_

"You did, you saved them, Mio. You were amazing, you were so strong back there. We're all super proud of you."

I can feel his hand gently cup my cheek and I lean into his touch. Hearing him say that… It only makes me more guilty, it makes me even more guilty that I failed to save one of them from getting killed. A sob make its way out of my mouth and I close my eyes tightly, away from those gentle and understanding eyes that I don't deserve. I didn't save them all; I couldn't save them all even if I've worked so hard for so many years to be better, to be stronger and help the people in my village who are in need. I failed…

"I'm- I'm s-sorry... Wasn't- Wasn't f-fast e-enough… I- I couldn't- I wasn't-"

I let another cough at my raw, dry throat, body trembling as I can picture those dead accusing eyes staring at me while the decapitated head is flying through the air. I grip harder onto my throat and Yohio's arm, trying to force away the image from my closed eyelids but it's impossible. I failed him… I failed the whole team, I put them in danger they should've never been, I should've never let anyone other than family enter the ID. I can feel Yuuto gently wrap his arms around my shoulders and I automatically wrap my arms around his neck, holding onto him for dear life as my whole being is carving support and comfort, even if I don't deserve it. I wasn't strong enough, I wasn't fast enough. I let him _die_ … He died because of me, because I let the village use my ID as an easy _income_. I was so stupid, if anything it'd be easy _death_. I should've-... I should've-

"You did everything you could, Mio. You did everything you could and more than I could've done in that situation. You brought the other three home alive with your power before anything worse could happen. You did everything you could…"

I don't care if there are people around us or not. I don't care if I'm showing the weak and insecure side of me that I hate so much. I don't _care_ if I'm acting like a cry baby right now, because I failed him. I failed to protect them all when I _swore_ the monster ID wasn't dangerous if you went in the right area; I swore it and that shadow thing appeared and completely broke that promise. It shattered into a thousand pieces and I have no idea when that thing could appear again and slaughter all foreign sources in the ID. I couldn't do anything to save him, I let him die right in front of me… I wasn't strong enough, I wasn't smart enough to see the danger of a monster boss in a ninja world like this one. I failed him… And I didn't even know his name.

So I let myself cry, I let myself be the vulnerable kid that I'm seen as and who I sometimes am. I show the emotions that has gotten bottled up inside of me; not only show the panic and despair that I caused someone to die, but also emotions I've gathered throughout my years of living in Suna. I cry for not knowing anyone unless they're family, I cry for pushing away another chance at having a childhood, I cry for not embracing _Mio_ more but stay as _past me_. I don't want to change, I don't want to have useless connections and I've never wanted anyone to _die_ because of me. Never again… I don't want that to happen ever again, I can't let it happen again.

It takes me a good few minutes to calm down, tears dry and subside to pathetic sniffing as my nose is still clogged up from distress. My once broken leg is still slightly sore for some reason, but that's far from the first thing on my mind. I slowly pull away from my cousin's embrace, looking away as I wipe away some of the wet tear streaks from my cheeks and lightly rub my sore eyes. I can see how I've made a huge wet spot on his shirt since he was holding onto me and letting me cry, that can't feel good in any kind of way.

"S-Sorry…"

I mumble softly, slightly ashamed of myself as that I let my thoughts and emotions pull me so far down into the dark part of my mind. Due to my slip up, I've basically drenched the front of Yohio's shirt. I refuse to look at my cousin when he shift into a better position next to me, making the bed's springs creak at the slight shift. He settle an arm around my shoulders as comfort, something I only accept from my family, and hand me a paper tower with his other hand so I can wipe my face.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Mio. I know how it is with that type of panic, I've been there too. Once the dam breaks, everything just burst out."

I gently take the paper from him, wiping my nose and blowing my nostrils free from snot until It's filled with the sticky fluid. Ew… I toss the bundled up paper into the trash can beside the bed once I'm done, rubbing my sore eyes once more as I spare a glance up at Yohio.

"You do? But you have thunder… I have death."

"Try death by lightning, that's the worst combo…"

Yohio replies and I can feel him shudder beside me. Right, there are lightning jutsu in this world, I had forgotten about that part. I nod in understanding, frowning as I place a hand on Yohio's knee as a way to comfort him. That makes me wonder if it was he himself who got killed that way, if he killed someone else like that or if he was killed like that on a mission. I shouldn't ask though; it's never nice to relive those kind of memories.

"... Yohio… Are-.. Are the other three-...?"

I mumble silently, worried over the three chuunin that they just lost a teammate and might've gotten seriously hurt during the brief confrontation with the Kage shadow. Now as I'm taking in my surroundings, I'm in the hospital, if they got hurt they should be somewhere in this building. I have no seals or medical instruments attached to me though, most likely due to my gamer's body.

"They're all alive… One lost their hand and the other two had some deeper wounds, but they're alive."

I nod slightly at that, closing my eyes and letting out a shaky breath. I never noticed their wounds and I just slammed myself into them without a second thought, what if I had hurt them when I did something so stupid? That'd have just made it all worse.

"They are all really worried about you, you know. You saved them, Cherry. From what they've told me and Taro, you kicked a _Kage_ level zombie through three buildings with that kick. A kick that literally broke your leg from the hard impact."

I snort softly at that, a small smile playing on my lips as a small warm feeling of pride start to grow in my chest. Three buildings? I didn't think it'd fly so far, I just wanted it away from me and them. I did break my leg, I remember that, but it all got healed up from sleeping in the hospital. I bet I must've looked pretty cool doing that even if I was panicking at the time.

"I didn't think of what I was doing. I just-... I just wanted to bring them back alive. I didn't care if I died, I just thought about bringing its attention on me. It was- It was really strong. I almost got scared when I felt it gather up, it-it stole all the chakra in the air. I wanted to protect them, I didn't want them to be in harm's way because I was stupid."

"You and protecting others. You should think more about your own safety first, not just other's safety. But I'm glad it all turned out well... You think you're good enough to come with me to talk to Taro? He's with Momoshiki right now with the other two..."

I take a deep breath, managing to read between the lines that they want my side of the story and lean forward to rest my elbows on my knees to hunch my back. Am I good enough to really describe it, to talk about it...? Physically, yes but mentally, I'm not sure. But maybe it'll be ok with Taro and Yohio are there, I'm sure it'll be ok. So with that thought in mind, I nod slightly and move my legs to dangle off the side of the bed.

"Yeah. Yeah, I- I think I'm good enough. Maybe..."

He nod with a wide smile before he stand up from the bed, to which I follow his lead. I hesitate for a few seconds before I reach forward to gently grasp his hand, causing him to smile wider in response before he starts to lead me out of the room and down the hall. As we're exiting the room, I glance around quickly and discover that we were alone in here. I feel a bit of relief when the only things I see are an empty bed in the room and a few medical instruments strewn around the edges of the room for emergencies. Not an emergency room but a normal one, they're bound to know of a Masago's healing abilities.

I let Yohio lead the way, keeping my gaze aimed at the ground as I try to collect my thoughts so they won't derail to another unnecessary path. I shouldn't go too much in detail, just-.. state facts and be objective about it all, see it from an outside perspective. That should be good enough... On our way towards the room, I focus on my chakra sense to feel where the room we're walking towards is. There's those three chuunin and Taro. I'm getting more and more nervous the closer we get, thoughts of uncertainty whirling around my hand as I'm squeezing Yohio's hand. Do they hate me for what I caused? Yohio lightly knock on the door post before we step inside and I stick close to my cousin as I'm looking over the three chuunin, eyes still sore from my earlier crying episode. I should've drunk a health potion, my throat is still sore and dry like the desert we live in.

"Hey, Mio's woken up now. She says she's good enough to tell you how it transpired."

Taro turns towards the two of us with a gentle smile, nodding slightly to Yohio in thanks. Inside the room, one of the chuunin ninja are lying on the bed with only a bandaged stump where his hand previously was. The other two are bandaged and sitting on visitor chairs on the opposite side of the bed from where Taro is sitting. They seemed to have been talking, but they all stopped before I can really catch what they were saying. The three chuunin look towards me and all three of them seems to relax with wide smiles on their faces, even the one who's lying in the bed. It's my fault they're this bad off, so why are they glad to see me?

"Thank you Yohio. Mio, want to share how it happened?"

I focus on Taro as he ask me this and I automatically nod towards him even if I'm not sure how much I'll be able to tell him. I notice Taro pat his lap, an invitation for me to sit there as I speak, but I decline with a shake of my head while looking towards the three chuunin. Not wanting to seem weak despite my current state of sore red eyes, I slowly and hesitantly let go of Yohio's hand to cross my arms instead. I don't want to be seen as weak, I do regret what happened but a good ninja shouldn't feel remorse… Right?

"Mio-san… Before you start, I just want to say thank you; thank you for saving us."

I look towards the bedridden chuunin in surprise, my eyes widening slightly as my gaze shift from his eyes to his now stumped arm. But he lost his hand-

"Yes, thank you. If you hadn't come when you did, all of us would've been dead. We owe you our lives."

"Y-You don't owe me anything. I did what- If anything I owe you an apology."

I quickly reply to the woman's reply, tightening my hold on my biceps while squaring my shoulders defensively. Why are they thanking me when it's my fault? When it was I who dragged them there, I who let our group split up and I who wasn't fast enough to reach them in time. Why are they thanking me when their teammate has gotten killed and they themselves have gotten severely hurt because of me.

"I couldn't- I wasn't-"

Before my thoughts derail into a more than unpleasant trail of thoughts, I can feel Yohio's hand gently settle on my shoulder. This action helps me calm me down just enough to realise I shouldn't talk about this now, nor argue with it. I'm here to give a brief report… Then i can do and do something to distract myself and push away the pain.

"Calm down, Cherry. You did everything you could and you did everything right."

I softly mumble a 'yeah' back at Yohio's words, directing my gaze towards my feet. It still doesn't feel right to be thanked when I'm the reason someone died… I really hope this won't be a normal occurence when it comes to my line of work…

But if I know ninjas right, killing and death is praised… So that hope is crushed immediately.

"So, how did you discover this creature, Mio?"

"Through my chakra sense. It was draining all chakra in the vicinity, even the normal monsters to become more powerful."

I answer Taro, biting my lip as I lift my gaze to look at him. The smiling, beige robes man is nodding slightly in encouragement; he must've heard the chuunin s version of the story already. Good, then I don't have to go too much into detail… I straighten my back slightly, taking a deep breath before I raise my head proudly; back straight and chin up, don't show weakness.

"I believe it was a chain reaction to how many monsters were destroyed, a defence mechanism of the dimension to remove the greater threats within it. The being most likely targeted the group of chuunin because of their greater chakra source… like I said, it had d-drained all chakra in the vicinity and was compressed to a point I couldn't get a clear reading on exactly how powerful it i-is."

I feel Yohio lightly squeeze my shoulder in comfort, encouraging me to continue. I didn't notice that my body had started to tremble as I remember that shadow creature's frame and the decapitated head flying through the air… focus, only report what you know of it. You don't have to say what happened.

"It was beyond Kage level, that's for sure… the moment I could feel it gathering, I rushed towards the team's side and it was faster than anything I've ever heard of. It was on top of the kage tower one second and then appeared by the group the next second with only one burst of speed… I-I- It's chakra was burning, acid like, it only grazed me but- but now when I think back-."

I reach up to lightly touch my neck where it once curly me, a shiver going up my spine as I glance away. Now that I think back, the wound got deep. But something about it felt off, like the chakra was trying to enter me… contaminate me… I don't remember if I got a debuff, a debuff we gamers get when we've gotten bitten by a zombie that'd most likely turn a normal person, but it felt the same.

"I think-... only one wound from it o-or even touching its chakra- it's like the contamination I've been worried about…"

"Contamination? You mean the thing where a monster bites you and you might turn into one…?"

I glance up towards the woman, nodding uneasily as I take a few seconds to look at their names. Momoshiki in the bed, with a lost hand, Sayako is the woman and Jirio is the third. Realising it's chakra might have contamination… it makes me worried for them. They were hurt by the kage being, no doubt about that. And as the three of them see me nod they all grow pale as they come to their own realisation. They might be turning…

"Yes… a bite with saliva from those monsters would slow down a Masago but might prove fatal to normal ninja… If you were hurt by it you- it might be-"

The silence that fills the room grows heavy as Momoshiki grab onto his stump and stare at it in horror, Jirio grab onto his bandaged side while Sayako grabs onto her shoulder. So they have all been damaged by it… Taro stands up quickly once this knowledge comes to light, stepping up to Momoshiki and cover a green glowing hand over Momoshiki's stump for a diagnosis. I step a little closer to Yohio, feeling even worse as this is happening. It's my fault…

"Mio, what's the percentage that an individual gets infected? Nature of the infection, contamination process."

"I-I-"

I freeze up when Taro start asking all of these medical questions I have no idea how to answer. I've only seen movies about it, nothing that'd bring it into a scientific aspect. I glance between the three frightened chuunin, all of them looking at me with hopeful and pleading gazes. I can't help, this is not my strong suit at all.

"I don't know I- it's never happened to anyone before. No one has gotten contaminated, it's too-. I-. Markings on s-skin, sweating, tired, fever, lack of c-communication it's things I've heard but I don't know. I'm what I've seen i-it all takes one bite but with that thing it's different, it wasn't- wasn't as strong or-"

"Mio, calm down. I'm not asking you to cure it, you don't need to know that much. I only want you to tell me what you have heard and I'll lead the research."

Taro states calmly, starting to unravel the bandages off Jirios side to take a look at the wound. It looks normal, it does… but I don't know what it takes to do it, to infect someone. I really don't know…

"We can talk more about this another day. May I have one of those hands? I'll start working on an antidote just in case."

Although I'm hesitant to let this hand out into the outside world, with a chance of it spreading, I trust Taro. So I nod slightly, taking out a zombie hand from my inventory and hand it to Taro carefully. I watch him inspect the hand with his green glowing hand before he put it in his own inventory to keep it safe. I trust him, he'd only use it to help others I know it. Taro smiles reassuringly at me, reaching down to gently rub the top of my head. I'm still worried about everything, glancing between my uncle and the three possibly infected chuunin; I don't want anything bad to happen to them… I really don't. I shouldn't have opened the dimension in the first place.

"Thank you Mio, you've been a great help. Go off and get some rest ok? No more training today."

I nod slightly to his suggestion, gaze focusing on my feet to avoid the chuunins terrified gazes. I didn't want anything like this to happen…

"I'll close it off… T-Taro, I don't- I don't want anyone other than family in that place. I- I won't let anyone else in at all, no way. It's-... please."

"I'll relay that to the council, don't worry. I think that's the right choice to make with how this all turned out… go and get some rest."

I can feel Taro gently kiss my forehead and gently push me in the direction of the exit. I nod slightly and quickly make my way out of the room to avoid the stares aimed at my back. It's all my fault…

The boss got created, a man got killed, three people got infected and it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been so careless about this ID power, normal people don't have fail safes, they have only one life and isn't resistant to most things. It's-. I should've never let anyone get into the dimensions other than my family, I never should've.

"M-Masago-san…?"

I twitch and freeze when I hear a timid voice call out my name, slowly raising my head to look towards the sound. In the corridor to my right is Kurisu Sakyou, jogging up towards me with a worried look on her face. Why is she here..? Parent visit?

"M-Masago-san I didn't think it was true. What happened? You were hospitalised? Are you ok?"

I almost, almost snap at her for being worried for my sake, almost yell at her for running up to me and asking if I'm ok when she knows how strong I am. But I put my rage aside… because even I don't know if I'm really ok. So I shake my head and force a smile onto my face, crossing my arms and gripping onto them hard to not let my thoughts wander. I shouldn't think about it, I shouldn't. Taro is taking care of it…

"I don't know… a lot happened. I-... _thanks_.. for caring. But- I'll be ok. If I'm not I wouldn't be me."

Kurisu seems taken aback as I thank her, her eyes widening as she stop in front of me. I can see small tears gather into her eyes and I quickly look away before the anger I managed to snuff out starts up again. I-... I shouldn't continue with my toxic behaviour. She shouldn't care about someone like me, yet she does. So if I don't try to do the same back she might turn on me… and I'd regret that just how I'm regretting what happened to the chuunin. I should at least try…

"I'm- I'm going to get ice cream. Come with me."

I start walking towards the exit, arms still crossed and not looking at the little mouse. It might've not come out as a _nice_ invitation but an invitation nonetheless, it's the best I can do with how irritated she makes me. I soon hear Kurisu shout out a gleeful 'sure!' before I hear her footsteps follow after me.

I should at least try… or I'll regret my second life even more than my first. Live without regrets, that's what my past family and my little bro would've wanted.

I should try to be more Mio… I'll start eating sugar at least once a week again, I stopped doing that 2 years ago and I should get a sweet tooth again. I had it during my earlier years… and I'll try to be better. I'll try…

* * *

I am sitting inside the white main menu plane, staring at the red window in front of me. Specifically the menu holding my save slots, all of them showing their date and time for when I saved. I'm staring specifically at one save, one I made yesterday when I was in the zombie ID with the chuunin.

That time when one died and three became contaminated with the virus.

I want to make things right, I don't want anyone to have to suffer with a disease that's my fault nor die by an over powerful beings hand. I still don't know the name of that man who died, but that hardly seems to matter at the moment. I take a deep breath, frowning as my hand is hovering over the zombie ID save to reload it. I have to… I should, I have to fix my mistake. However, with the knowledge that the shadow Kage will undoubtedly appear once more within that space is making me hesitate. I wasn't afraid per say, I can't be afraid of a monster, but if I could that thing would strike terror into my very core. It was stronger than anything else I've ever felt in my life, faster than I could ever hope to be and I can still feel how my leg is still sore from the kick I delivered to it before.

But I have to try, I have to try for their sake. My family will know why I'm doing this, they'll understand I'm sure of it. They won't be angry with me if they have to… relive yesterday a few more times, right? I'm sure they won't, it'll be ok.

I eventually push the button, pressing 'yes' on the question window if I really want to reload to that save. I then let my eyes close as the world around me flickers away into black mist-like surroundings where I float for a good second or two. Like I've been disconnected from reality and is floating in space. It feels like I float forever, even if it's a few seconds as my consciousness is traveling back in time. I can feel my being collide with a wall, knocking the non existent air out from my lungs and I quickly open my eyes to take in a sharp breath. It's disorientating every time I reload a save, it's so… unnatural. I look around myself, a shiver traveling up my spine as I see I'm in the zombie ID, I'm back to where I once was…

I look out towards the Kazekage tower nervously, nodding to myself as there is no dark energy gathering there at this moment in time; that's a good sign, it's not here yet. I need to find the chuunin and that's fast. So without any further delay, I activate my body flicker technique to run towards the area I met the chuunin last time when the shadow kage appeared, hoping that I can get there in time before it starts to materialise.

I jump from rooftop to rooftop at a fast pace, crossing the invisible line separating the higher level zombies from the lower levels as I'm making my way towards the chuunin; I need to get there before the Kage starts to materialize or I'll be too late to stop it. I travel for a few more seconds, feeling uneasy as I can feel a few stronger signatures not too far away from me, I hope they don't recognise me...

I can't discern where it came from or what happened, but I'm suddenly flying through the air, colliding through a building wall with an enormous amount of pain in my left side. My whole world perspective is flipped upside down as pulses of pain are rushing through my body, the sound of rubble falling around me echoes in my head as I'm trying to grasp hold of reality once more. I manage to slowly open my eyes, making out a figure walking towards me through my foggy vision. It's tall and lanky, adult with a beige vest on them. Taro…?

No, no it can't be Taro. Taro can't be here with me and that's not family chakra…

I quickly try and stand up, a short cry of pain escaping me as I can feel my ribs grind against one another painfully; my bones got broken from a single kick! My body is trembling in pain as I try my best to stand up on my feet, only to soon realise one of my feet are stuck underneath a huge pile of rubble, crushed and absolutely useless in its current state. I can hear the footsteps get closer to me, causing me to frantically push at the rock despite the waves of pain rushing through my whole being. I need to save them, I can't just die here...! I glance down at my HP bar, face paling as I see just how much damage was dealt towards me from a single kick. I'm at 26 HP… That's barely anything at all!

I can hear heavy, rasping breathing right behind me, causing me to quickly turn around and face the monster that's standing over me. The zombie has a blank expression on its face, drool escaping from its mouth and holding a sword at its side with the edge blackened by some type of toxin slowly dripping of the edge of the blade. A level 35 zombie… I completely forgot the zombies are still active before the kage arrives to drain their energy! How could I've been so stupid!?

I can't do anything but stare wide eyed at the thing as it raises the sword above its head, a low hungry groan escaping it as it's staring at me with those dead, dead eyes. That dead light I fear so much; making me paralyzed in fear as I remember the dead eyes I've seen in the past. My brother, that chuunin I'm trying to save; I don't want to see them, I don't want them to be dead! I can feel the sharp edge cut through the skin on my neck and I can feel the burning pain as my skin, muscles, veins and even bones get cut through with the sickly black liquid from the blade entering my system. Then everything turns black once more, making me hover in that black mist-like space as my spirit was taken from my body.

When I retain movement of my body, gasping eagerly for breath, I notice that I'm once more in the low level zone of the zombie ID where I saved. My body is trembling as I reach up a hand to lightly touch my neck, feeling no pain nor scar from the previous injury I'm sure I got. My ribs were broken, foot crushed and-and that thing cut off my _head_. I could feel it, I could feel how the sword tore through my skin and bone! I could feel my life leaving my body only to be caught up in the dark mist.

I just died…

I continue to stay there for a few more seconds, breathing air into my lungs to make sure that I'm really _alive_ , that I did just get killed by that zombie but I returned from the dead. So this is what my family was trying to tell me about… It's really not something you can describe, it's an absolutely terrifying experience. I can see how this is terrifying for anyone, the confusion and pain; I can still feel how painful it was to die.

I shake my head and stand up on shaky feet, taking a deep breath to try and steel my resolve; I need to move. I need to go and save those chuunin before the shadow Kage appears! But I guess going through the difficult zone is a really bad idea at this moment, a level 35 easily took me out with two hits. I need to go around it all if I'm supposed to stay alive so I'll be able to get to them. I glance down at my mimi map, an uneasy frown on my face as I calculate the safest route. I only hope I'm fast enough to reach them in time…

I quickly bound off towards my destination in a large circle to avoid the higher level areas. But due to my earlier freakout, I can feel the Kage starting to form when I've barely traveled any distance at all. I spent too much time freaking out about my death that I forgot time was a valuable thing; it was my first ever death in this world, of course I'd freak out! But I was stuck in that panic for far too long and now it cost me.

I couldn't reach the group in time, I was even further away from them than last time due to my brief detour and I could feel their chakra fizzle out one by one as the shadow kage killed them all. I, too, succumbed to the shadow kage's wrath; specifically getting the shadow kage's hand driven through my heart and instantly killing me somehow, I remember a feeling like my body expanded in every direction but that can't be right.

As I wake up on my previous spot once again, panting from my earlier death and frustrated by my failure, I flinch as a ringing tone emit from the space around me, a red call window popping up in front of me to show that Taro is calling. I quickly answer with an uneasy smile on my face, I hope he isn't mad that I've just restarted two times, technically three times to try and save these chuunin. Before I get to say anything, Taro starts to talk.

" **Mio, I know it is you who reloaded and I know what you're trying to do. But please, understand that sometimes you can't change things the way you want it all to go. We have family members in the war and I can't let you reload again and distract them.** "

If I was expecting anything to come from him, it certainly wasn't that… I stare wide eyed at the screen, at a loss of words for a few seconds while I try to come up with a good answer; I had forgotten about the war completely… But I need to do this, I can't let them die and risk letting the zombie plague break out into our world. I need to fix my stupid mistakes!

"I- But I can't let that man die, nor can I let them get infected. At least let me try, I-"

" **No, Mio. You are still alone, you are still not strong enough, you're not able to in any way, shape or form change the outcome. What you originally did what the best outcome that could've happened in that scenario. I can't let you reset again and distract our other family members who are fighting for their lives. You will replay what happened last time and we will take care of the infection problem before it worsens. I don't want to see the world rewinding one more time and that's an order.** "

I can feel a cold sensation grab hold of my body when he says that and I look down at the ground in shame. I didn't think of my family in the war… I-I just want to save them. I don't want their lives on my conscience, I don't want to be the reason they're dead or worse!

"I-I just want to save them, Taro. Please, I don't want them to die or worse because of me, I don't want that to happen to them!"

" **Mio. We're ninja, you can't think like that anymore. Don't be selfish and put others at risk only because you don't want to feel guilty. Focus on saving the many, don't focus on saving your guilt. The only thing you can do is do your best and not even I can save everyone I want to save. You need to understand that, there's a limit to how much we can change.** "

I let out a heavy sigh, slowly standing up as I stare towards the kazekage tower with a worried frown. I-I don't want to… I want to change it, I don't want them to get killed or infected. I don't want it to happen. The cold sensation creep through my body, reminding me of Taro's command to replay what originally happened. I want to save them… So why can't I? I want to save them! I don't want them to-it's unfair!

"R-Replay everything…?"

" **Everything. I'm sorry Mio, I really am, but you can't change it this time. You're alone and weak, you can't change fate yet.** "

"A-Alright…"

I say softly before I end the call, defeated and saddened by what he told me. I have this power to change the world, so if I'm not able to save people from dying, what should I use it for? I don't want them to die… I want to save everyone I can, I don't want to leave anyone behind, everyone has a purpose in this world. I let out a heavy breath, the cold chakra still present to remind me of Taro's order from earlier; to replay everything that happened and not try and change it. I hate it… I hate that I can't save them, I hate that I died trying to achieve nothing. I just want to help, I just want them to be alive.

But I can't refuse Taro's orders…

So I shoot off towards the edge of the 'newbie' area to wait for the shadow Kage to appear, head lowered in shame. I can't do anything… Taro doesn't let me try to change fate like I want to do, I'm not strong enough to achieve it he says but with the right plan I could. The moment I can feel the chakra drain from the air and gather up in the middle, the cold sensation in my body grabs _hold_ of my chakra and I immediately burst off into a body flicker to try and reach the chuunin in time. I can feel tears of frustration gather in my eyes as my body is instinctively running through the rooftops without me really controlling it, like the body knows what it needs to do even if I don't completely agree.

The coldness of Taro's order is guiding me, to make sure I replay it all exactly like I should. And I can't do anything to change it. I'm not strong enough to change the fate of someone else's life… No one is here to help me change it either, he's basically forcing me to let someone die.

In a way, I can understand it, I can understand what Taro is trying to tell me how I can't change everything into my own image. But a different part of me feels betrayed, that I'm not even allowed to try; a part which holds the constant anger I store within me. But I can't hold it against Taro, he's only doing the thing that's best for the clan as a whole. He's only doing this to protect me and the others in our family, I'm sure of it.

But as I'm once more forced to watch when the male chuunin get his head decapitated, tears flowing down my cheeks as the dead eyes are staring accusingly in my direction, I wish I could've gotten more chances. That I could've been stronger, faster, better, strong enough to get over this hurdle and save ALL of them. Like last time, I release a stream of flame, dodging the strike aiming towards my throat and _kick_ the shadow kage hard enough to break my leg. I repeat my actions, I do as I'm told.

And I feel like a horrible human being for letting it happen again.

* * *

She has grown a little more as a person and she's trying harder now to not do something she'll regret. She still has anger problems, as it's part of her character, but she's getting better. Slowly. And her very first death happened, death over something she's not strong enough to change.

 **This chapter's question:** Did you have a nice valentine's day?

 **Review replies:**

 **hiareportsyou:** I'm Not sure I follow what you mean...? She isn't more cocky than usual, she just return to her normal cocky attitude after a brief 'fangirl' moment.

Rasa came to train, got curious over a passed out child and decided to teach her a lesson for her bad attitude, yes. Doesn't he seem like that kind of guy that wouldn't accept that kind of behavior and would willingly beat up a child to teach them a lesson about it? He just didn't count on how absolutely stubborn Mio is as a person.

She's far from a good person, that's true. And she has anger issues more than Neji and Sasuke, yes. But they also can't be propely compared considering their background and how they were shaped as people can you? Neji had trouble with destiny because everything was decided for him. Sasuke had a trouble with power since he was remarked how he was weak. Mio has problem with strangers and being underestimated as a person, which is a much broader aspect of 'triggering' than one might think. It's a problem she'll be fighting with her whole life, but I hope you can see how this ordeal changed her and how she's starting to try and change.

 **haremlover:** Copy of Naruto? No, that's far from my intention and clearly what her character is all about. Naruto is a ball of sunshine who want to be accepted, Mio is a ball of rage who want everything to get out of her way. They are nothing alike? Also, do you really believe Masago clan are that kind of stuck up clan when I've clearly showed how much they care for one another and support one another? Especially with how much trouble Mio has been as a child getting into fights? If they'd have been that kind of people, they'd have sent her off somewhere the moment her personality changed. This 'political shit' that keeps getting hinted at isn't what you think. She'll be a play piece, yes, but she won't be a victim of politics more so a catalyst for politics. You said you weren't going to flame, but saying that you won't read the story for reasons that are completely wrong, where the right view can be seen in the story, is a form of 'flame'. I hope you want to give it a second chance and look it through a different view, but if you don't that's your choice

 **cupcake:** Yes, however it's needed for character progression. She can't change for the better if she doesn't first experience pain with the kind of stubbornness she has.

Yes, he was curious about an unconscious child in the middle of a training ground, approached and found the bad attitude unacceptable. So he wanted to teach her a lesson by beating her up in that way. And she is maturing, as I hope you can see. Slowly, but surely.

Thank you! Hearing you say that means a lot. ^^

Another crush. Hmmm... We'll see, I'm not sure if I can grant that since I want it to feel natural. I can't promise anything about that. BUT I have planned a loss, that I have. :)

 **EmikoTsubasa:** You do what you feel is best for you. If you want to post a story, do so. If not, write for yourself. I did make other stories than this one, you can see them on my profile. I haven't created a book, only fanfictions so far. And yes, many sad things will happen during the war. A previous question was actually related to something that will happen~.


	14. Regrets

Another chapter finished!

Thanks to **cooltom4321** input, I realised i completely forgot to include something important in the last chapter. So I'm adding it now!

 **Important note! Last chapter has changed! The first part of trying to change the Chuunin death happens in the last chapter after the hospital scene.**

With what **cooltom4321** said, something that I as a writer completely forgot in the flow, is that she can reload her saves and could've reloaded her save in effort to save the chuunin. So... oops? Sorry about forgetting about that. It created a very interesting plot point once I thought it through and I simply had to include it! So thank you **cooltom4321** for straightening out my thoughts. I hope you also enjoy her little 'trip' through time and what she experience as she's trying to save them.

 **Please read last chapter before reading this one if you haven't already or you'll miss some pretty important and deep stuff!**

And with that said, here comes the continuation of the story~.

* * *

Regrets

I'm sitting outside my house on the porch, staring out at the sand covered training ground of our training compound as I'm enjoying the sun's warm rays. I repeated everything, not because I wanted to but because I was ordered to. The moment I stepped into the room where Taro was, the cold sensation stopped controlling my body and I could do something on my own again. I'm disappointed in Taro, more disappointed than I ever thought I could be, but I also know I should try and think of the broader picture. Something Yohio said stuck with me, something that-I'm not really sure what to think of.

That everything isn't about me.

I already know this, of course I know this isn't all about me. I tried to _save_ the other chuunin from getting killed and infected but Taro didn't want me to, that it was best letting it be as it was. I was trying to think of others, I wasn't thinking of myself. … right?

Taro basically forced me along like a puppet, a sensation I'm not familiar with and don't like in any way. I really don't know what to think about that, he's family but he forced me to give up on my goal to save them. If I have these saves, I should be able to change the outcome of something I don't like right? Then why won't he let me do that? Why are they-I'm not selfish am I? It wasn't about me, it was about saving them! A person died because of my mistake, so I should try and fix that mistake. But they won't let me…

I sigh heavily, running a hand through my messy crimson hair as I'm trying to come to terms with what I've caused. I never wanted anyone to die inside my ID, I never meant for the zombie plague to break out into this world as well. Taro is trying to develop a cure, sure, and he's the most brilliant medic in Suna, that's correct, but it doesn't change the face that an infection could from the zombies could come to this plane. I didn't feel any fear in facing the shadow kage, only fear for what it could cause to others. I myself had already died by its hand, I wasn't scared to die again. What I was scared of was that it'd kill the other three too… I still can't quite put my finger on what to feel about all of this; is it some kind of punishment? Or is it some sort of lesson I need to learn? I already learned something before I tried to change it all, that I should try and be a better person overall and not take everything for granted. That I should try harder to be better as a person. But what other lesson would I be able to learn from this? That I can't save everyone? Once I become strong enough, I'll be able to save everyone for sure, I only need a bit more time to train and get stronger. And unlock SSP skills…

But Taro didn't let me try and change it, he didn't let me try and change the outcome for the better but just forced me to- now I'm just going around in circles. I need more time to think about this, or talk to Taro and Yohio about it so I can understand their view of it… I should go and find them actually, all this thinking is distracting me from my training. I still have a graduation to finish.

As I'm about to stand up and look for Taro, I can sense him make his way towards the compound from his earlier meeting. I immediately make my way to meet him at the gates, looking up at him with a conflicted frown. I'm still happy to see him, of course, but a part of me is conflicted by it with how he forced me to follow orders; it doesn't seem fair that he uses that against me. When Taro spot me at the gates, he offers me a warm smile; a smile which warms up my insides and make a happy buzz start up in my chest. Instead of smiling back I frown, trying to show how I'm very displeased with what he's done. But I'm too curious about the meeting to leave… It was a meeting about my ID.

"Well? How'd it go?"

I ask once he's within earshot. Taro doesn't answer until he's stepped through the gate, lightly ruffling my hair in affection.

"I did my best, but it was denied. Since I'm developing a cure and it was only one who died, they don't deem it enough of a threat to close it. You'll be asked to stay with the group at all times during the hunt so you can make a quick getaway…"

"W-What!? But- But it was like level 100! And who fucking knows when it can come back, I can't-I can't let people get killed like canon fodder in there!"

These news does not sit well with me, not at all. I'm starting to imagine all the different scenarios where the shadow kage appears out of nowhere and slaughters everyone in the ID, including me, and no one will be able to know what happened since we just disappeared and never came back. Or people get back from the ID with the disease in their veins and slowly change into zombies, causing an outbreak in Suna that kills everyone and-

"Cherry, breathe! Nothing like that is going to happen again. Didn't you hear what I said? You'll be with the team the entire time, you won't be allowed to go off on your own in the ID anymore."

"But then I can't train properly! I-I need to be alone! What if I unlock SSP skills that need to stay a secret, that are too dangerous to release around people? I don't want anyone to get caught in the fray!"

I shake my head, gripping onto my arms as I look down at the ground, I don't want any more normal ninja in the ID, it'll just cause more death in the long run. I'm not strong enough to protect them as I am now, and I'll graduate soon! I won't be able to stay in the ID for that long, I'll have other things to do than hang around a group of ninja and get minimal EXP from needing to share the kills with them, people who don't even use the EXP they receive. I-I thought I didn't have to put anyone in danger anymore, I thought Taro could take care of it…

"We'll discuss that with the Kazekage if you ever receive a skill that you think is too dangerous to use around other people. For now, your ID is too much of an asset to Suna economy to let go. I've told them about the night hunts that you do every other day with some of us, so during these night hunts a group of ninja will join in to get more money for the village. Since you'll be graduating soon, the Kazekage realized a change of schedule would be needed so this way a family member will also be present to help you. That way, something like the shadow kage won't have to happen again. And more money will be gained since we'd be able to kill higher level zombies."

"But what if someone dies when we take care of a higher level zombie…? What if they turn into a zombie themselves and attack us within the ID? What do we say then? I-I don't want anyone to be infected and-"

Taro crouch down to envelop me into a hug to cut off my panicking rant, to which I instinctively cling to him. He starts to gently stroke the back of my head to try and calm me down. My heartbeat is slowly reducing it's speed and the uneasy chakra in my chest dims down to a soft hum due to Taro's presence. I'm not ok with this decision, I just want normal people gone from my ID; I don't want anyone to die because I did something stupid or got infected by a bite. It's not fair towards them, it's really not…

"Mio, calm down… If they enter the ID with you, they do it knowing they'll enter a battlefield of formidable monsters. It's like fighting in the war, they know what they're up against and are ready to face it for their village's sake. With the zombies, we know their weaknesses from the start so they won't be facing an unknown enemy. And if the shadow kage appears again, you'll be there to get them away from there in time… Don't put your own guilt over what's best for the village. People die, and people will die often no matter what you try. You can't save everyone…"

I relax in his hold, closing my eyes tightly as I try to take in his words. A part of me does take them to heart, saving them in a corner of my mind so I can remember them later on. But right here and now, my only focus now is how I should've never given the village access to my ID. That it was a stupid decision on my part and that stupid decision will lead to even more death. I'll trust Taro for now, he always knows what's best just like my parents do, but I'll always be uncertain about it all. I don't want to put people in danger, but the Kazekage is basically demanding me to let people into the monster's den that I'm guarding. No one can take on a level 100 monster, I doubt even the Kazekage could. I sincerely hope nothing bad will come out of this… And that I'll have my days free to do whatever I want while only the nights are spent letting ninja inside the ID to kill zombies.

I really hope this all goes well and that no more innocent lives will be spent.

"You'll cure them, right…? And cure-cure anyone else who might get infected."

"Absolutely. I'm not the best Suna medic for nothing, I'm not quite Tsunade standard but I'm good in my own right."

I huff out a small laugh when he says that, lifting my head to spare a small, albeit sad smile towards my uncle. You can't compare two ninja with one another, every ninja is so diverse with their skills that no one can really say who's the best there ever was. I believe Shiro-sama was the strongest simply because no Masago Reset can show their true strength, but I can't say Taro is worse than Tsunade.

"You're Taro standard. Which is just as good as Tsunade in a different way."

Taro chuckle as well, ruffling my hair gently as he stands up from the hug. I almost want to cling to him once more, but I resist the temptation; I already got my hug. Taro nod slightly towards me, neon green eyes gentle as his smile wrinkles are showing.

"Thank you. I did try my best Mio, I want you to know that. But not everything can go ones way."

"I understand… Thank you, Taro."

I give him a slight bow and a brighter smile before I jog back towards my house. I should practice some funjutsu strokes to take my mind off these news, if I think too much about it it'll just make me overthink and freak out about 'what if's. So I'll distract myself with studying util Mother comes home from her ladies meeting, then cook dinner with her. Yes, I'll just continue to train; I have a goal to focus towards. This is a small… hiccup. A large hiccup, but it can't stop me when I've come so far. I'll continue to work hard to reach my goal, and for now on i'll try and do better. I'll try harder to control my temper and I'll try to not take too much for granted.

I'm still not happy with what Taro did to me… But I'll respect his decision as clan head; he could do what's best for the clan. And if that requires me to continue and let people into my ID… I'll have no choice but to do it. I'll have to trust him. Because if I can't trust my family, I'd be even worse of a person than I already am.

* * *

I take a few deep breaths as I'm standing in front of the academy, eyebrows furrowed in determination and my fists clenched at my sides. It's a free day for the school but not for me since today is the day; the graduation exam. I've been training hard for this, achieved all the criteria except for the optional one. I may understand what funjutsu is and how it works in its basic form, but I'm not too sure on how to _create_ my own seal, what's needed for it. I'll get my apprenticeship to Konoha and learn it there properly once the war is over and we enter an alliance. It's part of my other funjutsu quest, which I really need because dragons, so it'll happen sometime in the future. One step at a time though; genin graduation.

I walk towards the building with a sure, confident nod despite how my heart is beating in my chest. I've studied, I've trained and I've worked my ass off the whole year; I've had a fight with Rasa, one mental breakdown and killed a hell lot of zombies. Since the shadow kage incident, the zombie raids have been happening during night time to not interfere with my future ninja work. Taro have successfully removed any contamination that happened to the three chuunin and there will be no risk of the plague spreading into this universe if other people get hurt within my ID; my uncle has assured me of this. I don't trust anyone other than family to survive if the shadow kazekage appears again, it's way too strong for any normal ninja to handle with it's contamination chakra, but I can't refuse our Kazekages orders and is forced to keep the ID open for public. I only hope it won't appear again anytime soon, at least not until I can handle it in some way. I'm uneasy by the thought of the infection getting to this world... But everyone gets checked by Taro for contamination after we've exited the ID and so far no one's been infected.

I stop in front of classroom 15, fiddling slightly with my thumb as I mentally prepare myself for the upcoming physical test. It's 7,58 and it'll starts in two minutes… I take another deep breath, straightening my back slightly and narrow my eyes to show confidence. I can do this! When I step through the door, looking out over the classroom with my determined frown still in place, the conversations I heard from outside the classroom dim when they notice me entering. A lot of gazes from the older students are directed my way and I just stare right back, looking over each and every one of them while keeping my posture straight and strong. I recognize some of them as they too seem to recognize me. Some boys and girls have bullied people younger than them throughout my time here which has caused me to interfere to look out for the little guy and prove myself to be a fearsome foe. Those I have encountered are plainly glaring at me and I can almost hear their scornful thoughts that they hope I fail or die in the war once I graduate. Kids are like that, they curse someone for things that they've done that seem wrong in their eyes yet they don't fully understand the concept of death.

Among all these kids… I'm the only one who's experienced, has caused and seen death first hand. They don't fully understand the pain and guilt that comes with it yet… And once they do they'll regret wishing such a thing towards one of their own village and home.

I spot a free seat at the front of the classroom and sit down, posture not faltering as I'm ignoring the hard stares aimed at the back of my head like mental knives tries to stab through it. They will regret it eventually, I'll only scream in their faces of how stupid they are if someone tries to say it to my face. Me and Yuuto are both graduating at the same time and same day but he's in a different room than I am since he's in the 7th year in the academy, the oldest. It's the oldest class and the 6th that that are going to graduate, along with me who got special treatment for my skills and apparent political reasons. I'm among those who have spent their 6th year in the academy, the middle age of 11 and the same age as Yuuto, with only one 10 year old amongst the group from my brief observation. I've heard rumors of another student graduating early but they don't seem to be in this classroom, nor do I know who it is.

I don't have to deal with the hard glares of the kids around me for long as a teacher enters the classroom holding a clipboard in her hand. This is the same teacher I had in ninja training during my years in the academy, Eri. The same teacher who restrained me for 'going out of line' those years ago with her blonde hair tied up into a tight bun. I'm still not sure what to make of her as a person, but after the rainstorm when I was 6 years old she has become more… accepting in a way. It's almost like we've settled on a quiet mutual agreement that we won't get into each other's business as I haven't 'stepped out of the line' in quite some time.

"Congratulations on making it here, everyone. You all passed the theoretical exam so now it's time for the practical part of the test. When I call out your name, you'll go to room 14 to show your skills to the teachers as they request them. We have a record of your skills during this past year so some of you will be asked to go to training ground 1 at the school grounds for a combat demonstration. We can't have anyone who aren't combat ready get out on the battlefield, as you all will eventually do within your teams."

When she says this, she looks pointedly to me and a few other students who are in the room and I frown slightly as I'm one of those needing to demonstrate my skills.I can understand how and why this is necessary, but I am ready for this; I'm ready for the war as I've been training my whole life in preparation for this. I won't and can't fail; it's damage the pride of my clan and my name Mio Masago as the person who will become the strongest in the village. I have done many stupid things, but I didn't survive the assault of the shadow kage just to fail the exam afterwards.

A brief flash of the decapitated head flying through the air cross my mind, making me shiver and look down at the table in front of me. I take a deep breath through my nose, frowning and clench my hands to try and push those memories away from my mind. Not now; Now is not the right time to be thinking of that. I continue to listen to Eri as I'm still aiming my gaze towards the table.

"Go home once you finish the demonstration of your skills, and if you've received your headband you'll return tomorrow to take your photos for your ID cards at 8 in the morning in classroom 4. You'll meet your teachers and get your assigned teams at 12 in classroom 3 so as you've taken your picture you'll assemble there. Remember this as we won't remind you of where to go once your demonstrations are concluded, we don't have the time to remind every single student of something they should keep track of themselves. So do your best and don't think too bad of yourself if you don't graduate today, you can just try again in two semesters."

That's not an option for me, it's either today or in two years so I'll definitely pass this one. Eri walk over to the teacher podium, calling out the first name on her list and a kid stands up and walk out of the classroom towards their destination. Now all that's left is to wait for my name to be called out. I take out a few paper pieces and a handful of sand from my inventory to practice on my paper sticking technique and sand sticking technique at the same time, sticking all 10 pieces on different parts of my arms and one on my forehead while I stick the sand to my palms through chakra. I can hear people talking around me but I ignore all of them, my hands held out palms down in front of me, elbows on the desk and my eyes closed in concentration to let my chakra flow properly through my body. I enter a slight meditative state as I keep an ear out for my name to be called, still focusing on making my chakra usage more effective through these techniques.

"Mio Masago, go to training ground 1."

After a little over an hour of waiting, my name gets called out by Eri and I open my eyes to look up at the teacher. I nod slightly and stand up from my seat, the papers and sand still sticking to my body as I make my way towards the door. I glance towards Eri when I pass her and she gives me a slight nod, as if she's saying a quiet 'good luck'. I nod in return and start gathering the sand in one palm to put it into my inventory as I exit the classroom, ignoring all the other students who are still waiting for their turn. As I'm making my way towards the training ground, I also remove the pieces of paper from my body and put them into my inventory so I can reuse them for further training during the night. My skill didn't level up as I was waiting, but I didn't really expect it to level up just yet. Once I get out on the training ground, there are three teachers there waiting for me, all of them wearing stern expressions on their faces with the one in the middle holding a clipboard in his hand.

I can't help the small smile spreading over my face at the thought of graduating and proving my worth to the village. After the fiasco with the zombie kage, I've been uncertain of what the village thinks of me at this point in time; along with how I've basically told one of our greatest shinobi that I'll continue to fight against him until I win. But this exam, It'll be exciting in a way. I'll get to try my skills against a chuunin and not an over powerful jounin like Rasa or my older cousins, It'll be a way for me to see what level of power I'm at at this moment after the hard training I've gone through. I stop in front of the three teachers, head held high and back straight like a proper little ninja. I haven't really interacted with these teachers before, they must deal with older classes.

"Mio Masago, yes? You also got recommendations to take this exam, I see… But recommendations will only get you so far, let's see if you meet all the criteria. Show us clone jutsu, transformation and substitution in that order."

Teacher 1 start off, glancing down at his clipboard briefly before focusing on me once more. I don't say anything back, only nodding as I start to perform the needed hand seals for the clone jutsu in a quick succession. I show off all the basic academy Jutsu needed for the criteria and afterwards perform mirage genjutsu and my dragon breath fire jutsu at the request from the teachers since this was part of my special criteria. None of them let any emotion betray on their faces, but I'm impressed with myself with how how much stronger my fire jutsu has gotten from the many times I've used it. Once I've shown off my throwing capabilities as well, something Karasu never mentioned but I aced anyway, it concludes the 'showing' part of my test. Now comes the combat demonstration.

Teacher 2 take a few steps forward, her posture relaxed as she look down towards me with a slight smirk on her face. She reminds me of Karasu in the way that she looks constantly bored, but she's more cocky than he is. And this cockiness makes a small sense of anger flare up in my chest, but I don't let it show too much on my face. I only narrow my eyes at her in return.

"Alright, brat, come at me with everything you got."

I twitch slightly at the insult, my eyes narrowing more as I clench my hands to try my best and hold back the anger burning in my chest. Being called a brat makes me think of how absolutely pummeled I got when I fought Rasa, how useless I felt when I couldn't land a single hit on him. I shift into my dragon dance taijutsu stance, determined to prove that red haired bastard wrong, that I _can_ graduate and that I _will_ surpass him one day. I won't lose here, I refuse.

"Alright then, I'll use everything I got. Don't underestimate me, sensei."

The teacher just huff out a small laugh, most likely underestimating me for my small stature, and shrug before she shift into her own fighting stance. Her eyes are piercing into my own, that cocky gleam still in them as she's so certain that she'll win over me since I'm only a _child_. A very powerful child however...

"Could say the same to you, brat. You can lose and still pass so don't feel too bad about it."

I grit my teeth as she call me a brat once more, fingers twitching slightly as I hold them out in their slightly 'clawed' state. I'll make sure to beat her into the ground and show just how strong I am… I don't fight zombies every day and gain no skills from it, I'm not just some normal kid. Once teacher 1 tell us to begin, I activate my 'swift agility' to be even faster and rush towards her at a fast pace to aim a kick at her face. She barely has enough time to dodge my swipe and I can't help but feel very satisfied when her eyes widen in surprise at my speed. I land on the ground again after my fast assault, still sped up as I start to throw a series of chakra infused punches at her, all at a much faster pace than I'm normally able to. I'm not a fast fighter by a long shot, but I focus on strength. To be able to beat a chuunin or someone I know has more experience than me, I need to be both fast and strong in order to succeed. She barely manage to blocks all punches I aim at her and I can see her limbs shaking as she's doing her best to keep up with my speed and strength.

I use a feint by getting in close, aiming a punch towards her chest that she redirects to the side; she probably think that it'd hurt her limbs mor if she took it on her arms. Before she think she's broken my guard with that move to counterattack, I use my enhanced speed and shift of movement to hook my leg behind hers and pull it backwards to effectively take her off balance. As she falls to the ground, I steady my balance and follow her with an elbow blow towards her chest, but she manages to dodge and my elbow hits the ground instead. Despite how my limb is tingling from hitting the hard surface, I let out a pleased hum when I can see small cracks in the ground; I've become pretty strong with my chakra. Thanks to my still enhanced speed, I notice her counter attack and manage to roll to the side just in time to avoid her kick and get up to my feet in the same motion.

Now it's her turn to be on the offensive as I dodge and block her assault while being forced to take a few steps back; she's very talented and I'm only keeping up thanks to my swift agility. I grin at the teacher, thrilled over this battle and the challenge I'm facing yet determined to overcome. If I can't beat her, I can't hope to beat Rasa in the future, I still need to be stronger but I'm holding up good for now with what I have. I admit, I'm a little frustrated that I'm being pushed back, but it's good enough to hold my own against her for now. Using my high level flexibility, I bend over in a bridge to avoid one of her kicks and grab hold of the offending limb firmly. Infusing chakra into my arms and spinning my upper body with the momentum, I lift her off the ground and spin her around with a determined cry while I also straighten up for better balance. Once I have a steady middle point to go from, I throw the teacher over my head and down on the ground hard onto her stomach. I take out a kunai, placing my foot onto the middle of her back and hold the kunai up against her throat to conclude the match.

I won.

I'm panting heavily as I dismiss my swift agility skill, body trembling at how recklessly I tore at my muscles to overpower her with strength and speed. I still have a long way to go with my dragon dance taijutsu so I can use it flawlessly without needing chakra to accommodate for my lack of speed. But it's showing great promise if I can get the right amount of force behind all of my attacks and increase my speed just enough so I can keep up with them. I just need to grow up and become stronger, faster and more effective. I'm quite proud of how this all turned out..

"Well… Good work, Mio."

Teacher 1 congratulate me awkwardly and I take that as my cue to stand up straight and get the female teacher. I sheath my kunai into my holster once more, a slight sway in my stance as I turn towards the other two teachers with a proud grin on my face. I fucking aced the test in every way that I could ace it. The two teachers in front of me share a look between one another as the woman stands up next to me, brushing off dirt from her clothes. Teacher 1 nod slightly and aim a smile towards me.

"I have to say, we didn't expect these results from you concerning the reason for graduating. But you pas, congratulations."

Teacher 3 take a shiny new Suna hitai-ate from his hip pouch and hand it out towards me with an impressed look on his face. I don't know how long the fight was, but it felt like it was only a few minutes, possibly less than that. I eagerly step forward to take it, nodding as I wipe some sweat from my forehead with the wide grin still on my face; I passed with flying colors, I feel so fucking proud right now. This will show that Rasa that he was wrong to doubt me.

"Never doubt a Masago~. We're not renown ninja for nothing."

As a second thought, I reach into my inventory to take out a health potion, throwing it towards the female teacher for her to catch. She quickly takes it, looking at the red liquid in the flask before looking at me with a mix of frustration and pride in her eyes. She knows what that is, I've shared some health potions with the ninja for the war and my family to keep them all well. But I always make sure I have at least 10 with me at all times, now I'm down on one and soon two since I'll take one myself.

"Here, on the house. Thanks for the spar, it was fun."

With that said, I bow to all three teachers before I turn around and walk towards the academy gates with chakra running through my system to keep me from feeling too exhausted from what happened. I hold up my hand holding my brand new Suna hitai-ate, a wide grin growing on my face. I graduated and aced every single test! Fuck yeah! I laugh softly when I hear a familiar 'ding', looking at the window that just popped up as I take out a health potion to drink for my victory.

 **You've completed a quest!**

 **Pass the graduation exam**

Pass the graduation exam and become a genin, prove to those that recommended you that you're worthy of being a ninja early!

Quest requirements:

Transformation Jutsu Lvl 10 **complete**

Substitution Jutsu Lvl 10 **complete**

Clone Jutsu Lvl 10 **complete**

Genjutsu Lvl 5 **complete**

Taijutsu Lvl 15 **complete**

One D-rank jutsu **complete**

Pass the exam **complete**

Optional:

\- Create a funjutsu seal using your books -

Quest reward: Rank-Genin, 400 EXP, 2000 Ryo, 5 SSP, 10 fame

I'm the youngest graduate this year, hell yeah! I eagerly tie the headband around my head, the metal plate resting on my forehead as I uncork the flask of the red healing liquid to drink it. I'm practically glowing in pride as I'm making my way home, head held high and chugging the potion as I exit the academy with a light glow surrounding my body from it's effect; I'm a Genin now!

I stop when I notice a familiar chakra signature at the edge of my senses, blinking as I look over in that direction after I finished drinking my health potion. How come he's back already? Well, I might as well go and tell him I graduated even if he didn't believe I could with my current abilities. So with that thought in mind I take a detour home, jumping along the roofs and shinobi roads to reach the sparkly yet cold chakra signature I recognize. I'll show him that I was telling the truth and make him finally change expression from that blank gaze of his! I can see him walking along the street down below together with a brown haired woman in his own age, they seem to be talking with each other and having a pleasant time in the afternoon sun. He's just gotten home and he might just be a little tired; I've recently drunk a health potion so I'm ready to get up and get going for another fight, I'll at least try!

I jump down from my higher position, calling out his name as half a warning that I'm going to attack him so the brown haired girl can get away in case she needs to.

"RASAAAA!"

The red haired male look up towards me with a blank face and easily block my downwards kick with his arm, despite the chakra infused into it he doesn't seem bothered in any way. I just grin wider at him, still proud over my accomplishment of graduating so I don't let it deter me too much. With a push of his arm, he force me to flip away and I land lightly on the ground a few meters from him slightly crouched. I briefly look down towards my right leg, noticing that the chakra I infused it with feels… different. I can look over that later. I stand up straight, looking back towards Rasa as I raise my arms to prepare for battle, yet Rasa doesn't shift in any way and does _not_ seem amused.

"Girl… what's the meaning of this? I told you that you'd never win."

"And I told you I'd never stop trying!"

I scream back at him, ignoring the brown haired woman's curious stare aimed at me. I point towards my forehead, proudly showing off my new hitai-ate that's tied to my head. It's shiny metal most likely gleaming in the sunlight as Rasa direct his gaze to glance up at it with an eyebrow slightly raised. Fuck yeah, that's an reaction at least.

"I know you didn't believe me when I said I'd graduate, but I did! Don't underestimate me, old man, I beat up that chuunin easily."

Rasa just sigh, probably knowing that his peaceful morning was ruined by my appearance, and turn towards me with his bored expression never faltering. Except for the slight raising of his eyebrow from earlier, but now he's back to his blank expression.

"That doesn't change anything, girl. Graduated or not, it doesn't change your level of power. You will need more than a few months to be able to land a hit on me."

I twitch slightly at his insult, clenching my fists as I take a step forward, momentarily stepping out of my fighting stance to shout at him in response. The rage is burning in my chest, mixed with determination and pride over my earlier accomplishment. I don't know if I'll win against him today, but I'll never know if I never try. And how he just talks down at me with every word he says infuriates me the more he talks, I can't help but get angry with him.

"I'm Mio! M-I-O! And I'll fucking show you that I've improved!"

I let the brown haired woman take a few steps away before I launch myself at him, delivering a hard flurry of punches that he is blocking with ease. I activate my swift agility once more to move even faster, but he easily adjust to my doubled speed. Just how strong is this guy?! My hits doesn't affect him at all no matter how much power I put into it. He's just too good of a fighter for me to even graze him, he's really worthy of the title of jounin.

This fight ends similar to the last one with a hard punch to my gut, making me fly back and skid along the ground with a pained moan. I just sit back up again, holding my stomach while glaring at Rasa; he looks as emotionless and bored as always, no change to his expression.

"Had enough of this game of yours?"

"It's not a fucking game! I _will_ beat you one day! And once I do you gotta acknowledge that I'm the strongest, I won't quit or I wouldn't be Mio Masago!"

I stand up slowly, holding onto my sore stomach while glaring at Rasa. He just-. I don't like that guy but at the same time I respect him; it's all conflicting in my head if I should be hurt that I was defeated or if I shouldn't feel bad about it.

"So you say, but you've yet to land a hit on me."

He says evenly, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. I twitch slightly in irritation, so tempted to attack him again. But, I'm sure he'll like to spend the rest of his day with the brown haired girl. And now that I look at her, I can see why they're hanging out together. It's Gaara's mother! Alright, so I should let them have their day alone… But I gotta have a last words to him with determination and fierceness, or I wouldn't be Mio Masago. Determined to the end and never backing down, that's who I want to be and I won't anything change that. But I'll make sure to pull away for now. So I point a finger at him, eyes narrowed and posture straightening.

"Fuck you! Fine, I won't fight you again today. But any time I find you, I will go on the attack; so you better be ready for it, Rasa! You got three wins so far but I'll beat you eventually, you can count on that!"

That actually makes his mouth twitch slightly, probably his version of a smile as he stare me down. I got his face to move! I don't know why but something I did or said made him surprised enough to let some emotions show. Fucking score!

"You'll never be able to beat me, girl. But you can keep on dreaming."

"I'll beat you one day!"

I stick out my tongue at him, still glaring at him. He's such a jerk to always point out how weak I am at this moment! I nod slightly to the brown haired woman who was with him, ignoring the crowd that gathered during our dispute and jump up onto the shinobi roads to get home. I have no chance against that guy as I am now; but soon, eventually, I'll beat him. Not now, not next year, but in a few years I will! I'll show him that I deserve to be recognized as the strongest once I grow up to be stronger!

* * *

Now she's properly graduated and ready to meet her teammates! After realizing that nothing major would change depending on if the ID was closed or open to the public, I decided to keep it open despite Mio's trauma. The Kazekage wouldn't let a child's fear of infection spreading and people dying from reaching more profit for the village. After all, the infection can be cured and ninjas die all the time, why should a mere child decide if such a money bank gets closed off or not?

So yeah, I hope you're all ok with the change I made. Once again thank you to **cooltom4321** who pointed out a plot point I had forgotten, it created some interesting scenes? Or it that only me?

 **This chapter's question:** Any suggestions on funjutsu teachers in Konoha for her quest?

 **Review replies:**

 **cooltom4321:** Oh my god you're absolutely RIGHT! I forgot about that for a second there, thank you for reminding me!

 **Emiko Tsubasa:** It's great you had a good valentines. And don't apologise for not having time to read, I'm thankful you're reviewing at all.

 **Cupcake:** Thank you! I do my best. And yes, shadow kage will be used later on, but much later on.

Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it. ^^ And I hope those cookies were yummy.

 **TheOrangeLord:** I'll reply to these in order, thank you for reviewing.

Oooh right, Trace on, that'd be really cool... Sharingan (if that's what you meant) is an SSP skill she can access.

Oh wow, that power would be awesome, and she'd be delighted to have something from skyrim. XD Sadly, it's anime only for her powers; another reset gained game-related powers.

It would be really cool, it would, but it wouldn't really suit her brash personality.


	15. Jounin and team

Hey!

A bit late, but the week has been busy with school coming to a close with the first term in spring. So... Yeah, it's coming out now! A bit late... ^^"

Thank you everyone for reviewing by the way, I appreciate it a lot. I hope you're all enjoying my story so far and it'll soon pick up as the war starts. Well, not pick up that much, but it'll get more intertwined with canon.

* * *

Jounin and team

I'm humming softly as I make my way towards the classroom where I'm supposed to wait for my teacher and team to be assigned, classroom 3. I just took my picture for my ninja ID card in classroom 4 and I'm quite pleased how it turned out in the end. I put on a fierce grin for the photo with my eyes narrowed to give a confident and fierce look to my profile, since I am confident and fierce. I'm sure that my eyes will really pop out in the picture and the cuteness from my freckles and round cheeks will be ruined by my fierce grin; which will give me the desired look of not being innocent and cute but a challenge to anyone who face me. I don't want to be a 'nice girl', I'm a fierce ninja and I'll always be that way, no use in lying to others from the beginning and then change it up; I'm not fond of lying.

I'm curious about who'll be my jounin teacher because apparently Taro was involved in choosing them and that I'd like them a lot. I doubt I'd instantly like a jounin, especially not if it's Rasa but I doubt it'll be him, but I might warm up to them eventually. I guess it's a part of that political shit Karasu was talking about, the reason why I'm allowed to graduate other than my skills; that Taro would choose my teacher. And my teammates... I wonder who they'll be. I only recognize people from the class I took the exam with but I can't say I'm good with names nor what skills they have. I'm mostly used to working with my cousins but no one else. After the jounin and team introduction, my family promised to throw a party for mine and Yuuto's graduation like we've always done for every other family member. I hope Aiko has fixed that Bo staff Tonfa combo she promised me, if she has that'd be awesome. Should I give Yuuto something for his graduation? I haven't actually thought about it, what if he got a present for me and I don't have a present for him? I can give him some funjutsu seals..? Lots of different level bomb seals that I've practiced making. I have lots of it from the many times I've practiced funjutsu; it's one of the easier seals to draw.

I enter the classroom and sit down on a seat at the front of the room, ignoring the excited chattering around me from the kids wearing their own hitai-ate. There are about the same amount of people in the room as yesterday; but this is from two classes, some must've failed the extra physical examination they had to do and wasn't fit enough to send into the war. It's a good way to make sure no one is sent out into the war as canon fodder only but has a chance to survive. I sit there in my seat, calm and waiting for the few others who are trailing into the classroom. I was one of the last to have my photo taken so there aren't that many more students, Yuuto being one of them. As my cousin enter the classroom, our eyes meet and we share a wide, excited smile. I doubt we'll get in the same team but I'm glad I'm graduating at the same time as him and not 4 years later. As he pass me on his way up towards his small group of friends, he playfully ruffle my head and making my hair an absolute mess.

I was waiting on a high five and he betrayed me like that! I punch his side in retaliation, an irritated frown on my face as he just laugh and continue on his way. Jerk… but he's a big brother so I guess it's part of his charm. I focus ahead and everyone in the classroom are wait for the teacher to arrive, which she does after a few minutes when the last kid entered the classroom they do. It's Eri who enter like last time, holding a clipboard with names in her hand with her hair once more tied into a bun. She stands by the teacher podium and the room quiets down to listen to her.

"Congrats on passing the exam everyone, now you are all shinobi of Sunagakure; the lowest rank of Genin. Today you'll be split up into teams and be assigned a jounin teacher. You are all ready to fight for our village and I expect nothing less than the best from all of you, you have a bright future ahead of you. Pay attention to which team you're a part of and who your teammates are as the teacher will come and get you."

She look down at her clipboard and call out three names, ninja parent kids all three of them. A jounin appear outside of the room through body flicker and step inside as their name got announced by the teacher like it was practiced, smiling and holding up their hand to show its him who will be the leader. That's when I also notice a lot of jounin all around the academy, each of them waiting for a signal to appear. I notice a very familiar chakra signature among them all once I try to discern which jounin are surrounding us; what's Yohio doing here?

I zone out a bit while she continue to call out names on her list, waiting for my name to be called as I puzzle over why Yohio is here. Is he overlooking something as future clan head with Taros command? He's way too young to be a jounin teacher so it can't be that, but he's still standing there like he's waiting. He will probably tell me later, but I can't help being curious about it.

"Team 5. Mio Masago,"

I perk up as I hear my name and focus on Eri while she's calling out the rest of my teammates. Team 5, Alright then.

"Makoto Kuza and Natsu Daia."

I look around the room, using observe to find my teammates. Aah… I've beaten up one of them from bullying before, he doesn't seem very happy that he's teammates with me. The Kuza kid meet my gaze with a glare and I simply smirk back at him, shrugging in response. I don't want to be teammates with a bastard either.

"Your jounin teacher will be Yohio Masago."

I immediately snap my attention forward again, eyes wide in surprise and my jaw dropping at this revelation. What did she say? This fact is only fortified when Yohio appear from the doorway, holding up a hand in greeting with a bright grin on his face; he looks completely calm about this even if I recently thought he's too young to pick up a team, he's been jounin for barely a year! And it was mainly because he's studying to be the clan head!

"Hello~. Will team 5 come with me?"

I stand up, slamming my hand against the table while pointing at him, eyes still wide in surprise. I completely ignore how there are strangers in the room and that I'm supposed to act 'proper' at such an important moment but it's _Yohio_ , my cousin! Why and how did he become my _teacher_?!

" _You're_ my teacher?! Why the fuck-?! You're too young!"

"Ah, Mio, language. I thought you'd be happy."

He says calmly, looking at me with a cold stare while keeping the pleasant smile on his face, not pleased with my loud reaction. I flinch at his stare and slowly drop my finger, getting more discouraged to go against him. That's the very same stare Taro uses when he's demanding order… that look is freaking scary with how it makes my chakra freeze up.

"It's 'Sensei' now. Stop wasting time and let's go."

I nod mutely at him, hastily getting out from my table line and approach Yohio with an uneasy frown. I still don't understand how or why this happened… is this the political criteria they were all talking about? The other two people in our new team follow quickly and the four of us exit the room in a neat line with Yohio at the front. I'm a bit nervous as I'm walking behind my cousin, gazing at his back with my frown still in place. He seems different from what I'm used to; more serious and colder, not the lighthearted encouraging coaching cousin I'm used to. But his chakra is still the same and it causes a happy buzz to start in my chest even after the cold stare I received earlier. I start to smile slightly as my body start to relax with the happy buzz, deciding that I'm content with this. Might not be a jounin known throughout the continents, but it's someone I've always looked up to through my second life. As we walk out from the school, me walking behind Yohio and ignoring the two kids walking behind me.

"You knew the whole time."

"Yup. You disappointed?"

Yohio reply but continue walking, most likely making his way towards a place to sit not far from the academy where we can talk properly.

"Not at all. I'm glad it's you. Just surprised you were allowed to take on a Genin team. You haven't been jounin for that long."

I tell him with a wide grin, still walking behind him to respect his authority. Both as clan head, elder cousin and now teacher; it'll take some time to try and decide how I should treat him different from him as a teacher and him as a cousin. But I'll get into it eventually I guess, I shouldn't force anything like this but I know I can't treat him the same way I do at home.

"Now, don't make me look bad in front of the other two, Mio. I'm still your teacher, remember that."

He look back towards me over his shoulder, eyes serious and sharp yet a small smile on his lips. It seems my thoughts are spot on if I'm reading his look right; I can't treat him the same way as a teacher as I treat him at home. I wonder how I should separate it, but I hope Yohio will help me know what's good and bad to do.

"Yes, Sensei."

I answer back, nodding to him as I clasp my hands behind my back with my smile widening. If it had been anyone else I'd just have gotten irritated that they aim such a demanding _look_ my way; but this is _Yohio_. I can't refuse him like that, I admire him way too much to be irritated over something like that. The rest of the trip is quiet and Yohio stop in a little clearing that's more of a playground, about 3 minute walk from the academy. No kids are here right now so he turn towards me and the other two with a calm smile.

"Well then, congrats on becoming a ninja you three. As you know, I'm Yohio Masago, Jounin since half a year back and future clan head of the Masago clan. Let's start up with introductions… Why don't you start?"

He look towards the guy standing on my left and I glance towards him as well. It's the former bully, short almost snagged brown hair, black eyes that are glaring slightly at my cousin and a small cut scar on his right cheek. Plain dark brown clothes with a cloak resting on his shoulders to ward off the sand and sun. He doesn't look too happy to be in my team.

"Sure… I'm Makoto Kuza of the Kuza clan. I deal with fan combat and wind jutsu on a long range distance."

Makoto look down at me with an angry glare and my eyebrow twitch in irritation at his plain hostility. He won't even try to be teammates, huh? Fucking bastard, I can already tell that this is going to be a chore to deal with him. I hear Yohio hum softly in thought in front of us as I'm still staring at this Makoto, returning his glare with a glare of my own obviously. I can't back down from something like this.

"What about hobbies? Likes, dislikes and dream for the future?"

Makoto look back to Yohio, crossing his arms underneath his cloak with a stubborn frown still present on his face. He's already irritating in my opinion, not really a good first impression.

"I like barbecue and I don't like brats who put in their nose where it doesn't belong. In my free time I… train and draw. My dream is to become a jounin and lead my own team or become a teacher."

I can't help the small snort from escaping me as I strangle any words of mockery that wants to escape. A bully wanting to be a teacher? Wow I never thought I'd hear about something like that; never thought someone who push people around want to lead kids towards their future. I can feel Makoto glare at me but I ignore it as I look up at Yohio with a smile to fake innocence. I didn't laugh outright even if I wanted to, that's an improvement. I'll try to be civil but that guy will need a lot of work if I'm supposed to work together with him as a team.

"Thank you Makoto, you and I have similar dreams to lead a group of people."

Yohio nods to him, a little impressed it seems despite my soft amused snort; guess he doesn't see it the same way I do. Well I'm impressed too in a way, with how much it clashes with his personality. Yohio turns to me, smile still present as he raise an eyebrow towards me.

"Now your turn."

I can't help the wide grin from appearing on my face, crossing my arms proudly. Time to boast a little, that never hurt anyone if it's true.

"I'm Mio Masago, second hire to the Masago clan. I've developed my own fighting style dealing with hard hits and is good at close combat with Tanto and Bo staff. My hobbies are fighting, reading and drawing funjutsu. I like sweets and good challenges but I dislike stupid people and people who underestimate me. What I have isn't a dream, it's a promise. Cause I'm going to be the strongest ninja in this whole village!"

Now it's Makoto's turn to snort, which earns him a fierce and hard glare from me. The boy turn away, faking innocence just like I did which only makes a fiery anger grow in my chest; he's underestimating me when I've kicked his ass in the past. Why do everyone snort and scoff at the thought of me becoming the strongest? It's not impossible damn it! At least not if you work as hard as I do.

Yohio chuckle softly at our reactions, causing me to look back towards my cousin. He has a bright, warm look in his eyes which clearly shows he believes I can do it. Knowing that he still believes in me effectively calm down the burning anger in my chest and I take a deep breath to relax; I should try harder to keep my cool… but it's hard. Yohio turn to the last one in our group with the warm glint still in his eyes.

"Sounds promising. And you?"

I effectively calmed down by my cousins mere presence, I glance over to the last boy in our team, Natsu. I recognize his last name from when the teacher called attention on the class, he must be the older brother for someone in my grade. Well, previous grade since I've graduated. Natsu has short blonde hair, slightly curly to give it a messy look and surround his head similar to a halo. His eyes are a deep brown as he calmly smiles at Yohio, showing off a dimple on his left cheek. He's dressed similar to me, T-shirt and shorts without any fear for the sun's rays with a healthy tan on his body. He clear his throat lightly before speaking, his voice a little raspy for some reason. He strangely has a choker around his neck, black in color, which is something you don't see too often in Suna.

"I'm Natsu Daia, Not part of any clan but both of my parents are working ninja. I focus on mid range combat using a kusurigana, traps and poison on my weapons and senbon. My hobby is taking care of my garden of poisonous plants in my room and creating new poison combinations. I like experimenting and reading but dislike rash decision makers… my dream is to become a poison master like Sasori-san and become renowned as a poison ninja within Suna."

He doesn't seem too bad so far, a little obsessed with poison similar to Sasori but poison is cool, I can respect that. And since I've hung out with Sasori in his workshop I can see myself somewhat get along with this guy; we just need that Makoto to get on the same page. Yohio clap his hands together, making us focus on him again as he gives the three of us a bright grin.

"Great! We all have different goals, abilities and personalities that can clash but I believe the four of us can still make a great team. Normally, the jounin teacher are supposed to put the team through a test to see if they work well together but our team has a special… exception to this. So we'll start right on team training next time we meet."

"Exception…?"

Makoto ask with a frown, arms still crossed underneath his cloak. I was looking forward to fighting a jounin as a team effort practice, but I guess I'll show the other two what I can do during training instead. And I can see exactly what they can do as well. Yohio nod happily to Makoto's question and continue to explain.

"Yup, we're an exception. You see, this team was specifically assigned to be a 'fast rank up' team. With all of your individual strengths and possibility to work well together you'll be able to move up in rank quite easily so that our team, without me, can take on harder missions during war time. However, this has also been formed as a version of team leader training for me; I've been taught the theory for being a leader but so far lack the experience to lead, which I now get to do for you. And knowing about Mios temperament and tendency to perform actions that are self harmful, I'm the only one out of the currently available jounin who can make her listen to orders without any difficulty."

"Hey, that's not true! I can follow orders!"

I burst out, taking a slight step forward with a frown on my face. Now it sounds more and more like Yohio is our babysitter than our teacher, to keep _me_ in check when I'm perfectly capable of following _sensible_ orders. Will this arrangement really give me room to grow if he's going to keep tabs on me? I flinch when Yohio glare down at me, instinctively taking a step back to fall back in line as my chakra grows cold in my chest from his stare. This causes Yohio to smile again, the cold feeling in my chest disappearing as he does.

"See?"

It takes me a few seconds to notice my subdued body language and how my new teammates are looking at me. I quickly straighten up and glare at Yohio, crossing my arms angrily.

"Ok _fine_ , I listen to family better. So this was the political shit Karasu-sensei was talking about."

"I wouldn't call it 'shit' but yes, this team was formed mostly due to clan politics to give the most room for growth for all of us."

Yohio nod slightly at me before he look over to my two teammates. It's so weird to think I have a team now, but I'll try my best to not get too frustrated with them.

"Do you two have any questions?"

"Ye-Yes"

Natsu speak up, clearing his throat before he continues, a slight frown on his face as if he's in pain. I'm looking over my blonde teammate curiously, arms still crossed. He doesn't stammer because he's nervous like Kurisu, there's something messed up with his voice.

"If you and Masa-... Mio were decided beforehand in team 5, h-how did I and Makoto got chosen to be in the team?"

"Yeah I'm wondering that too. There are way more stronger clan members than me, why not choose them if this is supposed to be a 'fast rank up' team?"

Makoto throw in his own question with an annoyed expression on his face. I look between the three boys, also curious about the answer but has nothing to add. Why indeed; one long range fighter, one mid and one close. It might have been better with only close and mid range as my team up. Having one of each has the risk of making the attacks uncoordinated if we're not aware of the others are and what they're doing.

"Quite simple: I chose you myself because of your potential and what I'll be able to teach you. Since this is my first time, I figured it'd be easier to teach you all if I knew what I could give you."

Yohio declares proudly, shifting on his feet as he look to Natsu first. So he chose these two himself from his own abilities, not to accommodate mine… is this him trying to tell me to adapt easier to things or something?

"As a puppet master and close friend to Sasori, I can help you with your poison development and theories. I also have many ideas for how I can help you with ways of using your poison and Kusurigana when working in a team."

He then look to Makoto.

"You may not have the strongest wind jutsu among your peers but you're the best at close fan combat. The wind jutsu can easily be better with the right chakra control, which is something I know I can help you achieve, and having good close combat as a fan user is a great advantage if you're unable to gain distance."

He pause slightly, chuckling sheepishly as he scratch the back of his head, ruffling his spiky dark green hair even more.

"I was offered other clan members as well but I wanted to have people I know I have something to give to. I'm kinda lucky in that I could choose those in my team, I think with some training you three can have great team combos and teamwork."

"What about me? What are you gonna teach me, Yohio?"

I ask him, pointing towards myself with a slight frown. He has picked out these two in hopes that we'll come up with ways to work around our different combat distances, I get that. But why have Yohio as my teacher? He's a puppet user, I'm close combat, our fighting styles couldn't be more different to one another. And he doesn't know funjutsu either so he can't help me with that either.

"Sensei, Mio"

He correct me before he look at me fondly.

"First would be to cooperate and fight in a team of strangers, which also includes helping you with your temper. And I'll also help you figure out the jutsus you're creating on how they can be used as a team effort. Other than that; I'll figure something out for you, don't worry"

I nod slightly, accepting this for now as a good enough answer. Yohio has always helped me out, he can figure out new ways for me to improve as a ninja and a person. But hopefully he won't be a reason that's holding me back, I doubt it but if he doesn't come up with another way to help me improve… Yohio look over his team again, nodding slightly in satisfaction.

"Well then, if you have no more questions that concludes today. Why don't you all go and eat lunch together to get to know each other? I need to return to the academy and fill out some papers for you."

He then turn to me with a stern glare, making me tense up and frown as my chakra once again grow cold at his stare. When the hell was he able to affect my chakra the same way Taro can…? It's chilling and unnerving to even think of going against his orders when he look at me like that.

"Mio… don't start a fight."

The order chills me to the core and I nod numbly, still tense and uneasy by this different side of him. After he's gotten confirmation from me, Yohio wave goodbye towards us and disappear in a whirlwind of sand. That leaves me with two brats alone in the clearing. I look up at the two of them, annoyed that they're taller than me and let my body relax from its earlier tense position; an angry and firm Yohio is a scary Yohio.

"So… how old are you two?"

Makoto glare down at me, snorting loudly and bend down to show his superiority in height. I can feel my eyebrow twitch as he does this and I'm very tempted to grab his cloak and headbutt him; he's older than me, he has no right to boast about height that way. Fucking jerk…

"Why the hell does that matter? No matter what, we're older than you."

"I'm 11 years old and Makoto is 10 years old."

Natsu answer for both of them before I can bust in Makotos face with my forehead, which is even more tempting to do with his cocky attitude. Natsu step in between us, pushing against both of our shoulders to be some sort of shield for conflict. I flinch at the contact, not used to getting touched by strangers and almost slap his hand away from my shoulder, only to reconsider as Yohio's words flash through my head. Don't start a fight… I let my hands hang by my sides, clenched into fists while I'm glaring up at the two boys. I can't disobey the clan head...

"Sensei told us t-to eat lunch together to get to know each other. So let's do t-that."

"I'm not about to eat lunch with this-!"

"Fine I'll pay."

I say loudly to interrupt Makotos start of an angry rant, which would obviously make me more irritated with my new teammate, and instead focus on Natsu since he's the less annoying one out of the two of them. I can already see myself struggling to not beat Makoto's face in through the time the three of us will be a team. But we'll be focused on climbing ranks fast so hopefully it won't take too many years… Natsu will have to keep me from beating him up when Yohio isn't here.

"Anything in the whole damn village, let's just get this over with. We're stuck with one another as a team anyway, may as well get to know each other better."

Natsu has a sheepish expression on his face as he let go of our shoulders, giving me a thankful nod that I don't seem too willing to start a fight myself. He shows a lot of emotions, like my mouse does, but he has a huge amount of confidence that she lacks. He doesn't seem too bad, I just hope he's as sincere as he seems.

"I would like to know you two better, yes. You don't have to pay for us, Mio, I can pay for my own food. Anything special you want to eat?"

I'm about to open my mouth to suggest a tea house known for its sandwiches when Makoto interrupt with a loud scream of 'barbeque' while holding up his hand excitedly. This is the first time he is showing some sort of excitement since we were assigned to team 5. I can't help but twitch and glare at Makoto for his loud announcement however, hands twitching as I just want to punch that guy for being so- so obnoxious? I have no fucking idea what's with him that makes me so irritated with him, but I guess it's his overall personality.

"Well, Mio..?"

"Fine… And I'll pay for both of you, I need to use my money on something. But this will be a one time only for you, jerk. So don't get used to it, got that?"

I say as calmly as I can while the irritation ove Makoto's presence is only growing. I lift my head to glare at Makoto, to show that it's him I'm not going to be willing to pay for in the future. I don't like anything about him so far, nothing at all.

"Jerk? Me? Who was it that constantly beat up anyone who annoyed them, huh? Certainly not me! You're the jerk here between the two of us. Saying that you'll be the best, ha! The best at being arrogant maybe but far from the strongest!"

Makoto counter, parting his cloak so he can point a finger at my face with an angry snarl. A burst of anger fill my whole being when he insult me on so many levels, reaching up to grab hold of the collar on Makotos shirt as my own face twist into an angry snarl. I can feel a familiar cold twitch of my chakra, but it's easily ignored with the pure anger I feel over this _brat_. He knows nothing about me and he dares to say that in my fucking face, He's not only an arrogant bastard who thinks he's better than me, but also an idiot. A fucking idiot bastard.

"What the hell? You're calling me a jerk when I offer to pay for your stupid lunch?! I beat up those who beat up others, which included you! I've beaten you before and I can do it again, you bastard! You don't know shit about me!"

A cold shiver run through my arm, forcing me to let go of Makoto's collar and pull back. Yohio's order once again ring through my head as the coldness subsides and I can once again clearly feel the burning rage in my chest while I glare up at Makoto. He's already inherited Taro's ability… I can't disobey; this is way different from his leadership skill Yohio had previously. This is a flat out _order_ like the time Taro forced me to replay what happened in the ID like a puppet.

"Backing down already? I didn't know you'd become such a-"

"Shut up will you?!"

I interrupt him, glaring at Makoto as I'm still struggling with myself. This kid is so fucking full of shit, I want to punch him so bad. But I can't disobey… I cross my arms as an effort to keep my rage contained, turning and walking towards the street to let the other two catch up.

"I'd gladly beat you to the ground, but I can't refuse his orders. So just save it until team practice! Let's go, slackers."

After a few seconds of me stomping along the street, I can feel the other two follow me. I'm still bristling angrily, my chakra burning hot under my skin while gritting my teeth in an effort to keep my temper in check. The fact that Yohio felt the need to give me an order like that is honestly disheartening, it really is. Like he doesn't trust me, I'm doing my fucking best damn it! Isn't doing my best to be a better person enough?

"You can't ignore his orders…?"

Natsu ask me as he was the one who caught up to me first, a slight cough escaping him soon afterwards. I glance over to him, only to be met by his brown eyes shining curiously; he doesn't seem to mean anything bad about it. Makoto soon catch up to be within hearing distance and that's when I decide to share. Maybe then he won't be such a fucking jerk.

"No… There's either command or order a clan head can do. Command makes you compelled to listen. An order is something you can't refuse as a Masago..."

I say as calmly as I can, arms crossed and glaring ahead of me. I don't like it one bit, I can control myself, he doesn't have to give me a fucking _order_ to make sure I don't beat them up. I may be impulsive, but I'm not a fucking rabid animal.

"Hold up. So just cause he's clan head trainee and ordered you to not start a fight you _can't_ start a fight?"

Makoto says suddenly, stepping up next to me on the other side so I'm flanked by the two boys. He is staring down at me, I can feel it, but I continue to stare ahead. I can hear the cocky tone in his voice which makes the spark of anger flare up once more, if I look at that bastard I'll just be tempted to hit him.

"Yes you dip shit so unless you want your face burnt beyond recognition during team practice, I suggest you shut your fat mouth from saying any rude comments."

I glance down to my mini map to make sure I'm on the right path towards the barbecue place, still avoiding looking at the two boys next to me. I wouldn't actually burn his face, that'd be too cruel of a punishment even for a stupid kid like him, but threatening him won't hurt anyone. He doesn't know if I'm going to do it or not, that's the important part. I'm really, really trying to hold back my temper, but it's like Makoto has a mission to push every button he possibly can as he lean down to look me in the eye with a wide grin on his face. The anger is burning hot in my chest as I'm glaring at the boy, fists clenched to my sides in an effort to hold back when I just want to punch that smug look off his face.

"You're bluffing, you can't burn my face. So now I can tease you however I want~... Short, uncontrollable angry _troll_."

"You're so fucking _dead_!"

I scream out loudly, my temper getting the best of me as my hand fly up to punch him in the cheek. A cold sensation freeze up my muscles and chakra, making my muscles relax and miss hitting Makoto's face as I stumble forward to try and steady my footing. I grab onto my arm firmly, body trembling as the cold sensation is causing painful sparks to run through my arm, similar to when I tried to leave the house when I got house arrest. But knowing what it is now… it makes it all seem _worse_. Still slightly disoriented from the cold feeling in my body, I ignore the two boy's gazes and just continue forward while gripping onto my arm. It hurts like pins and needles, I shouldn't- I can't hit him; not now at least. Once Yohio return, the order will be dispersed and I can hit him then… I'm not short, nor uncontrollable nor a troll, I'm a girl with anger issues who tries to be better damn it! He's just a bastard kid who is full of himself and think there will be no consequences to his actions, he's the fucking worst.

"Get off my fucking case, windy boy or you'll get burned! Let's just go, I'm hungry."

The cold pins and needles start to dim as I continue to walk with the two boys behind me, slowly regaining movement of my arm as I open and close it a few times to get rid of the sensation completely. That he feels the need to do this to me to make sure I don't start a fight, that knowledge alone hurts… A part of me can see why since I did just try to punch Makoto with a chakra infused punch, but that's beside the point; Yohio doesn't trust that I can control my temper. That's- I'm really really trying, I can't do better than trying with how many years I've had anger issues that I've never dealt with in a healthy way. Damn that leader skill, I wish he didn't feel the need to use it against me; I'm not that fucking bad.

I enter the barbecue restaurant, arm still tingling lightly as I look around for a waiter so me and my two teammates can get a table. Now I just want this day to be over and get back home, away from the team and have a serious talk to Yohio about _why_ he did this to me. I don't understand why and it hurts that he doesn't trust me. A waiter walk up to me just when my teammates step inside behind me and we get a table for the three of us with a small grill in the middle that the waiter start up for us. I pick up a menu of food you can order to grill, avoiding the gazes of my two teammates as I'm clearly annoyed by what happened earlier. Makoto is a fucking shit head.

"H-Hey, Mio. I've heard that you have some special ability in your clan? What's that?"

I glance up at Natsu, the boy having a pleasant smile on his face despite the raspy tone to his voice. Makoto looks busy reading the menu like I was but I'm pretty sure he's listening in as he's sitting beside the blonde. I nod slightly with a small frown forming on my face, glancing out the window as I absentmindedly answer. I try to focus more on the reason why Yohio did this to me than think of my ID, as it has some bad memories attached to it.

"Yeah, I can create an opening into another dimension with my chakra. It's dimensional chakra in a way, only I got it so far."

"Other dimensions… Like alternative realities to this one? M-Maybe also one where Suna is rich with gre-greenery?"

Natsu ask, making me glance to him and watch as his smile widens into a grin as he leans forward slightly, his eyes sparkling in excitement. Greenery, huh? Well, I haven't come across one of those dimensions yet, the zombie one is pretty much void of life.

"Not-not those kind of dimensions. More like dimensions with monsters that you can kill and train against. They just live there instead of humans."

I say irritably, setting aside the menu I was holding and glare slightly at Natsus excited expression. I really don't want to talk about my ID more than that, they should know the official version and that's the only version they should know of. Him getting excited over my ID isn't something he should get excited about, it's too dangerous in my opinion. But despite all this, the Kazekage still want it open to gain money...

"Oh yeah I've heard of that dimension thing, my dad went in there once. He said it's become a night thing?"

Makoto speak up after he's ordered a bunch of different stuff for us to grill, turning towards me to join the conversation. He seems calmer now and more… accepting? I have no clue but he doesn't seem to want to bother me anymore, probably thanks to Natsu as the two of them were talking as they walked behind me; but he's still a bastard in my opinion. I can't help the shiver running down my spine as I recall those dead eyes staring at me, accusing me of their death and later how the other three chuunin got infected by the virus and saved by Taro. I really don't want it to be open, not one bit. But I can't refuse...

"To adjust to me graduating. I'll do ninja duties during the day and people can enter my dimension every other night. I wanted it closed but- it's too much of an asset to close only because of one death."

I cross my arms, acting calm and collected as I say this despite the panic that flares up from the memory of the shadow Kage. It was really strong, too strong... Both boys look a little confused by my grumpy comment at the end, the two of them sharing a look before Natsu aim a sheepish smile towards me and clear his throat to speak.

"E-Every other night…? How can you get a good sleep then?"

"I don't sleep, I don't need it."

I snap back, really not wanting to talk any more about my ID. It's bad enough that I'm forced to let strangers into the ID but I don't want to talk about it more than necessary. The situation gets a little awkward, the two older guys being more interested in me than themselves and thus don't know what to say to have me open up more to them. Of course they're interested in the new girl who graduated early since they've been in the same class, but I don't know anything about them. This isn't an interrogation, we're supposed to get to know each other.

"Natsu, why is your voice so raspy?"

Natsu blink at the question aimed at him, lightly touching his black choker that's wrapped around his neck. Makoto glance down at the choker with a slight frown, resting his head in his hand with a fake bored expression on his face.

"My voice? Well, I ac-accidentally breathed in some poison a year or so ago… it permanently damaged my voice, it's not that big of a deal."

"'Not that big of a deal'. You were coughing blood for a week."

Makoto says irritably, glaring at Natsu without moving from his 'bored' pose. Have they been friends or acquaintances during their school years? Natsu let out a raspy chuckle and wave away his concern with a small grin.

"It's not, really. The medics dealt with it quickly and I'm healthy now, just irritating to s-speak."

Well he's ok, this Natsu. He seems truthful and looking out for others, something I want to be able to do as well. I can stand being around this guy, the faint irritation I get around his presence is mainly because he's a stranger to me. Maybe a health potion will help out with his voice, it's worth a try at least. So with that thought in mind, I take out a health potion and place it on the table between us, I've heard of it's effects on other non Masago ninja but I've never seen it myself.

"You've heard about this?"

I ask them first, tilting the rounded bottle to have the red glowing liquid inside it shift. The two of them look at the red liquid curiously, one with a frown and the other with his eyes widening. Yeah I like Natsu more than the other jerk, he's genuinely curious in a serious way, not too pure nor too 'corrupted' but just the right amount to be considered a good person.

"Is that some poison glowing shit?"

Makoto ask rudely, making me glare at him. The waiter comes along to set down plates of meat and vegetables for us to fry as I snap at him for his rude comment; why the fuck would I poison anyone of them?

"No, you dumbass. I'm not some poison master. This is what you can get in my alternate dimension, I call it a health potion. Cause it can heal any and all of a Masago's wounds. So you try it, Natsu; maybe it'll fix your voice. I've heard it's healing effect is limited on non Masago ninja but it's a miracle potion for a reason."

I look over to Natsu and slide it over to him, still frowning in irritation over Makoto's earlier comment. I hope Makoto can read between the lines soon and fucking get that he shouldn't irritate me with those type of comments if he doesn't want a punch to the face. Natsu carefully pick up the bottle as if it'll break in his hand, looking a bit nervous about how it's glowing. He glance at Makoto before looking at me again, clearing his throat to speak.

"You... You're sure it's safe?"

I grit my teeth angrily, slamming my hand hard on the table as I lean closer to the two of them. My patience is running very thin with how the anger in my chest is growing, it's like no one fucking _trusts_ me to be a decent person! Family and teammates, those who shouldn't have to worry worry that I'll do something wrong; I'm not a fucking unpredictable animal damn it! Natsu flinch slightly at the loud bang, eyeing me cautiously.

"I'm acting fucking nice here so accept it you dumbasses! I'm willing to pay for your food and give you a way to heal your voice so just fucking accept it with a 'thank you' you idiots! Why am I the only one trying hard to actually be _nice_ to you?! I'm one of the most violent people in the village with my fucking anger issues, but I'm still _trying_ damn it!"

The silence after my rant is tense as the two boys are looking at me with wide eyes. I have no fucking idea what they're thinking but they should just accept my offerings of peace with a smile, thank you and try to do the fucking same in return. I'm not a person who just gives and gives without a reason, these two are supposed to work together with me for the years to come; I don't want them to hate me or mistrust me. And I'm expecting them to give ME something in return.

"Uhm… thanks Mio. I appreciate it. I g-guess it was a little rude of me to refuse, sorry."

Natsu says, a little uneasy as he lift the bottle like a toast towards me. I don't know it's from his actions or my angry scream towards them, but no matter which it is I calm down slightly from his apology. At least _one_ of them know when he's being rude.

"Damn right you're sorry. Drink it. It tastes bitter as hell but it works immediately."

I huff, sitting back down as I drag a bowl of meat over and place some slices on the grill to cook. I focus on the meat instead of my teammates but I hear Natsu when opens the cork holding the bottle closed and curiously sniff at it. I look up when I hear him cough, pleased to see a bit of the bottles contents has disappeared but not letting it show on my facial expression. Natsu stick out his tongue in disgust, turning away his head slightly.

"B-Bitter…"

Makoto decides to help me with the food, giving plates for the three of us while smirking at Natsu disgusted face.

"She warned you it was bitter."

Natsu huff softly, frowning and rubbing his throat slightly; it must've done something good with that small sip because he soon continues to drink the health potion with large gulps. While he's struggling with the potion and the meat is getting grilled, I turn towards Makoto. Even if I don't like him, I'm still trying to get to know them both; just looking at the brown haired boy makes me irritated but I need to ignore it the best I can.

"So, you two were friends before this?"

Makoto blink at my question, a small frown forming on his face as he gesture towards Natsu with his chopsticks rudely.

"No way, he's just a poison nerd. But we've been in the same class for 7 years so during that time you kinda get to know who everyone are. But he's obsessive when it comes to poison, if he starts talking no one can make him stop, like he got trouble hearing."

At that point, Natsu has finished drinking the potion and the bottle disappears into smoke in his hand. He clears his throat slightly, aiming a smile towards Makoto.

"Well, at least I wasn't part of a group who beat up lower classmates to make themselves feel stronger."

I can't help the small grin of victory forming on my face when his voice comes out as smoother and calm, any hint of raspiness gone as he just sounds like a normal guy now. It worked; that's good to know for future reference. It's 11,35 right now; let's see how long the potion lasts. I start to place the grilled meat on our plates as Makoto looks at Natsu with wide eyes, obviously surprised by how his voice got magically fixed by a simple potion.

"It… got fixed…?"

"I fucking told you it was a healing potion. I'm not someone who lies."

I say with a snort, placing some vegetables to grill and pour up some sauce for me to dip my meat in. I've forgotten about drinks with the food, but I'll take that later; first is grilling meat and veggies so we have something to eat.

I take a bite of meat, staring at Makoto deep in thought about his earlier dream for the future. I kinda suspect he's lying to himself in a way, that he want to be a teacher; why would someone needing to feel above others want to teach kids? I don't think he wants to be a teacher to teach, but to have authority over others, or take care of others if he has a good reason to care. I'm not sure, but it's the only reason I can come up with why someone like him would want to teach.

"Hey, what're you looking at?"

Makoto says rudely, riled up by a simple analytic stare as he frown at me. This causes anger to flare up into my chest, glaring right back at him. Before my mouth start to run off on its own, I put a piece of meat into my mouth and chew while still holding my teammate's stare. I'll have such a hard time to not punch his face in later...

"Makoto, calm down. Let's not start a fight."

Natsu tries to intervene, but the younger boy just ignores him while pointing at me with his chopsticks. I'm trying to keep my calm, chewing my piece of meat slowly while glaring at the boy.

"I really hate that 'high and mighty' attitude you got! You're not better than everyone else, you're just a stupid brat!"

"Really?"

I ask him, frowning more as the anger burns brighter in my chest at his out of the blue rude comment. All I did was stare at him, he might have the same kind of anger issues that I have. I swallow the piece of meat to answer him properly, a cold hand closing over my chakra to remind me of the earlier order. Don't start a fight… it's really, really fucking hard Yohio. And I don't ever want to experience an order again, it _hurts_ in more ways than one. I hope you realise that… so I bite back the rude retort I want to throw back at his face and instead says something more… calm.

"At least I aim to do more things for others than for myself. I share my strength, I share my loyalty and I would gladly put myself in danger to save someone's life. Including a shithead like you."

I can see Makoto's hand twitch slightly at that but he's not backing down. I tilt my head slightly, not faltering in gazing right into Makoto's eyes. He needs to know his place and not speak to me like he knows what kind of person I am. I'm trying to be more than the angry Mio who roam the village for strength.

"I know what I want in life and as someone who train non stop, I have the power and determination to reach it. I may be loud, I may be angry and prideful, but I'm _always_ willing to sacrifice my own life for someone else's. In the long run, I know I'm worth less than a pebble on the sidewalk, but I'm _fighting_ to become more than a simple pebble. So don't come to me and speak of 'high and mighty attitude' like you know what kind of person I am when you can't look past your own fucking pride. You haven't seen someone get their head decapitated right in front of you."

I hold his gaze for a few seconds more, seeing my message sink in as his glare falters. Once his aggression has died down, I look away to flip the vegetables on the grill to make sure they're not burned. He shouldn't talk to me like he knows what kind of person I am, fucking dumbass. At least I got him quiet, It'd be good to not have to listen to Makoto for a while.

"You're very mature, Mio."

Natsu says awkwardly to break the silence, scratching the back of his neck while looking between me and the now quiet Makoto. I only shrug and eat a piece of meat, glancing at my blonde teammate to keep my attention on him. Screw decency, I talk with food in my mouth, I hate silence anyway.

"Yeh I guess. Juss- juss part of being a Masago."

I swallow my food and gesture towards Natsu, raising an eyebrow curiously. I've talked about myself but he hasn't said a word about him. And Makoto as well, that guy won't get away from talking about himself.

"Do you got any interesting to tell? This feels more like an interrogation about me. I don't know shit about the two of you, so talk."

I have the two of them take turns in talking about themselves while I grill meat, veggies, all of that stuff. I also get some much needed drink for myself, making sure to keep it filled during the meal. I throw in my own story about my tight knit family here and there but I mostly let them talk.

Natsu is an ok guy. He's really a poison and plant nerd but his confidence in himself and his poison brewing is something I can appreciate. He has a little brother in the academy, someone from my previous class, and he's right now taking care of the house while their parents are gone in the war. He does most of the chores in the house and is teaching his little brother how to cook so he can take care of himself once we're sent out on our own missions. He's a good older brother to his little bro, something I also respect, and so far he's an ok guy to spend time with; he's calm and collected and doesn't talk too much, nor put himself on a high pedestal. I just hope he's as ok to fight with as he's ok to hang out with. If he's clumsy I have no idea what I'm going to do… He also told us how we should build up an immunity to his poison now that we're teammates and he promised he'd give us something to take every day.

Makoto though, that guy I really can't stand. He's prideful as all hell and seems to try and one-up all of our stories with his own, sometimes pulling them as far as one time he got chased by a giant tortoise even if they don't fucking exist in the desert. He talks about his clan with such pride, as if it's the best one in the whole village. It was his clan who formed fan corps, sure, but it's not that great. Fucking clan pride, it's like toxin in this village, just like the poison our puppet masters use. He has a little sibling and an older sibling, the older being out in the war and he often spends time with his little sibling by drawing with them. He didn't specify what gender his sibling is, he just call them 'runt' as a mixed insult and fond nickname. He's the kind of guy who has faked a tough personality so much that even he believes it's real and now he doesn't know how to go back to being a somewhat nice guy. Anything he says to us is laced with sarcasm, some sort of mockery or anger which makes me not like him at all.

The time is 12.17 when I can feel Yohio approach the Main Street, most likely looking for us since I think he said he'd join us later. The two guys are talking amongst each other right now, something that happened in the academy days with some girl, so I decide to call Yohio, just cause I can. He can't sense where we are, so why not help him on the right way? He's quick to pick up the call and I can hear a smile in his voice.

" **Ah, hey Mio. Are all my students still alive and well?** "

"Hey Yohio."

I say back, making the other two look at me in confusion and surprise. They start to look around the restaurant, thinking that I'm talking to him because he's here and not through our clan telepathy. They'll learn soon enough, having two Masago on the same team might be a bit of a cheat honestly, but they'll get used to it.

"Yeah, they're both alive. You and I need to have a serious fucking talk about you giving me _orders_ rather than command, that's some below belt shit."

I put a vegetable into my mouth to chew on when I hear him laugh sheepishly and I can feel him continue to walk down the street towards us. My two teammates are looking between me and each other, very confused about what's going on. I ignore Makoto's rude question about who I'm talking to and focus on what my cousin is saying.

" **Yeah, we will. I'm sorry about that, but I didn't know if you'd end up hurting them out of frustration or not. Was I right?** "

"I could've handled it even without that shit, I'm trying _really_ hard. Makoto is a clan kid so that's annoying but you did good with Natsu."

"What do you mean by that, you're a clan kid too!"

Makoto says angrily while Natsu laugh sheepishly at the wind kid's outburst. I'm highly amused that they have no idea what's going on. Radios and phones haven't been invented yet so this is the first time they see distance communication and not just hear it as a rumor.

" **Good I did something right then. So where are you three? I figured I'd spend the rest of the afternoon with you before the family party.** "

I glance out the window when I sense and see Yohio walking past the barbecue place as he talks into the open air, smiling slightly as he's looking around. He missed us by a thread, if he'd only turned his head to the right instead of the left that one second.

"Ah, you walked past it."

I can feel him stop as I say this, but I'm not able to see him anymore.

" **Hm? I did?** "

"Yeah, you walked past it. Come on, it's not that hard to feel for chakra."

I lean over to snag a meat from Makoto's plate, making him burst out loudly in anger that I'm stealing his food as I easily dodge his attempts at grabbing me. Figuring that Yohio has good hearing and isn't that far away, he should've heard that.

"I made a siren for you, you heard that?"

" **... Mio, I told you to not start a fight…** "

I throw the piece of meat I stole back into Makotos face with a slight smirk, a lot more relaxed now when I'm talking to my family. And making Makoto look like a dumbass, of course, that's always a plus. Natsu has a calculative look on his face as he study me, for some unknown reason to me as I raise an eyebrow back towards him. Natsu smile slightly and shrug, picking up a piece of grilled onion to eat. Yohio is walking towards the barbecue place we're at as this is happening and I lean back into my seat.

"I didn't start a fight, I just stole his food. See you soon, _sensei_."

I hear him chuckle softly before he ends the call and he soon enters the restaurant. Makoto is still grumbling angrily at me for taking his 'precious food' but I completely ignore him as I spot Yohio by the door looking for us. I wave him over, calling him 'sensei' just for the fun of it and making him turn towards us with a happy smile on his face. He'll always be my cousin first but I'll humor him and call him teacher while with our team. My teammates look over towards Yohio and as they look back towards me their eyes are wide in surprise as Yohio is walking over towards us.

"You- You talked to him in your mind?"

I enjoy his smooth voice a lot more than that raspy one he had before, it suits him way better; he doesn't sound like an old man after all. I nod to his question, setting out another plate for my cousin as I fry the last of our meat.

"Yeah, it's a Masago thing."

"Hello my students. Did you miss me?"

Yohio greets cheerfully, ruffling Makoto's hair as he passes while the brown haired boy is still frozen in his seat. Makoto look between me and him a few times while Yohio sit down next to me and start to pour some sauce into his little sauce plate.

"You-! But how!?"

"A Masago thing."

I repeat with a frown aimed at Makoto; he should learn to listen more, it's been a constant rumor that's buzzing around Suna. Before I can get more irritated by Makoto's dumb look, Yohio settle a hand on top of my head to help me relax more. The reaction is immediate, a happy buzz spreading in my chest and I focus on grilling the meat with a slight, comfortable smile on my face.

"Like Mio said, it's something we can do within our family. We can form a mental link and talk to each other that way. It'll be very useful for our team if we get split up on the field."

"... Sensei. I have a lot more respect for you than I did before."

I look up curiously at Natsu's sudden declaration, not understanding why he's smiling at Yohio so earnestly. What the hell happened to make him say that? I glance up at Yohio with the silent question in my gaze, raising an eyebrow to see if he knows what that means. He just shrug slightly towards me before he thanks Natsu. When Yohio arrived, the lunch was a lot calmer with less screaming and arguments blowing up between me and Makoto. Thanks to Yohio keeping my temper in check, I could have a somewhat civilized conversation with my teammates. Still filled with insults, but I don't feel annoyed with every single thing they do. Yeah, giving me a family member as a teacher was really the best choice… I should thank Taro and Yohio more for this, it was the best choice really.

* * *

Teammates introductiooooon~. What do you guys think? I think it makes sense and that they'll match as a team. So a poison user and a wind user, they'll have some team building thingies in the future and I hope you'll like the team dynamic between them all. ^^

 **This chapter's question:** Should the last SSP group that she can unlock be useful abilities in battle, useful abilities in support or absolutely useless for any type of combat or support.

 **Review replies:**

 **TheOrangeLord:** Once again, I'll reply to them in order. Thank you! ^^

Thank you for your vote. :)

Sadly, she can't. Her SSP powers are focused on Anime, not Games. Yohio's powers are based off games and each reset have one special media that their skills are connected to. So Mios are locked into Anime powers, she won't be able to receive game powers.

Alright, thanks for your vote~.

XD Nope it's super bitter.

I'm very glad you're enjoying my story. X3 Sadly, Mito is already dead at this point, she died when Kushina was around 14 I think so we're past that point. But alright, Minato, thank you for your vote. ^^

Then I'm glad I guessed right~. X3

Again, she can't use game powers. Sadly... ^^"

 **Cupcake:** Thank you so much! And yeah, I really owe them for that, I can't believe I forgot that was a thing! XD Mio is still a brat, as she'll be most of her life. But she'll get better as reality repeatedly smacks her in the head with a sledgehammer. ^^

Oooh Kushina, right. Thanks for your vote! And yes, she'll meet Kakashi, I won't say more than that.

 **Emiko Tsubasa:** I've been good, thank you. Fujutsu is the art of drawing seals that have different functions. Like explosive seals, barriers or sealing power. It is before Naruto is born, yes, because she is as old as Kakashi. And Kakashi is much older than Naruto yeah? Jiraiya, gotcha. Thanks for the vote! And no, I haven't made kid stories before, only fanfictions.


	16. Eight years old

Hey a new chapter! Very late...

School has been busy with exams and meeting friends lately so I didn't have time to go through the chapter until recently, I'm sorry for the long wait.

This is a bit of a filler chapter before the war happens, a few things that are important for the progression and stuff. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Eight years old

I twirl my recently acquired Bo staff Tonfa combo beside me, right now in it's Bo staff state. Aiko ordered it for me, like she promised, but I didn't get it until my birthday cause it wasn't finished when I graduated. My birthday took place about two weeks after my graduation and I've been working with my new teammates for a little over three weeks now. It's going slow but our teamwork is making progress.

We have an official training ground in Suna where w meet and train, training ground 5 for our team number. We meet here every day to practice our teamwork but we haven't picked up a mission yet, Yohio want us to be able to fight properly before we do. He said that we'd have proper practice today, not sure what he meant by that, and I've arrived early to practice shifting from Bo staff to Tonfa with my weapon in quick succession.

This weapon is so fucking cool, it's chakra conductive and really sturdy steel. A bit heavy but nothing I can't work around, rather it's good to get in heavier hits. To separate the staff into two Tonfa I twist the middle of the staff, activating the mechanism with a burst of chakra to have the parts of the staff I'm holding fasten vertically to become my Tonfa handles. With the burst of chakra I use to flip the handles, it also retracts the longer parts of the staff like a telescope and make it just the right length for the Tonfa to stop about 2 decimeters past my elbows. It's still a bit long but Aiko assures me that it was the best way to let me grow into the weapon. The way I have it turn back into a Bo staff is similar, I deactivate the handles with a burst of chakra and then I twirl my staff to have the telescope staff pull out to its full length. The shift is really smooth and I absolutely adore my new weapon, I've used it on a few zombies already and I can't think of a better weapon for me to use.

As I'm waiting for my teammates I continue to assault the log in front of me with my weapon, switching between bo staff and Tonfa to get into the flow of shifting between the weapons better, I can do it good but I know I can do it better. Natsu is the one who arrives first, thank the Maker for that, and I can feel him approach me as I continue to hit the log in front of me.

"Good morning Mio."

I grunt softly as my own version of a greeting, hitting the log one more time with my right Tonfa before I jump back slightly, shift it into a bo staff and launch at the log again in the middle of my twirl. I can feel Natsu watching me as I hit the log hard in quick succession with my weapon without paying attention to him, but I don't mind it too much anymore; I've gotten used to it. I can't break up my movement only to talk, I need to finish this last round before I can call it enough.

"Your switch has gotten better."

He praise me happily and I hit the log one more time as the last part of my rotation, panting and sweating as I stand still in my current position. With how much Natsu is constantly observing mine and Makotos fighting techniques, I trust him on that. Even if it doesn't really feel like I've gotten much better a change may have happened. He wouldn't give me praise if he didn't see a change, he's politely blunt like that and I appreciate that in him.

I take a deep breath, stepping away from the training pole and run my chakra through the rods locks so I can retract the bo staff into a smaller size with a slight shake. I attach it to my back with the clip holster I got for my weapon, where I press my staff into place between two hard leather pieces until it clicks into place and is held there by the firm pieces. Through this it's as easy to draw out as it is to put back on; even if I have my inventory Aiko said it's always good to have a weapon on my person so I can draw it quickly. I turn towards Natsu, wiping some sweat off my chin with the back of my hand with a slight smile on my face. He's smiling brightly at me, as he does every morning, and he adjust the hitai-ate that he has around his neck. He doesn't have the choker to cover up his throat anymore since he doesn't need the pressure to ease his throat with my potions healing his throat when he needs it, which is once every week. But he wanted something covering his throat so he's the only one in our team who isn't wearing his hitai-ate on his forehead.

"Yeah, Thanks. I still feel like I can do better with the switch, just takes more practice."

"You'll get there eventually. Took your daily dose of poison today?"

I sigh softly when he mentions that, rolling my eyes while I walk closer towards him and cross my arms. All of us have taken a small dose of Natsus poison to get a natural resistance to it over time. I'd be stupid if I didn't take my daily dose, then I might get affected by Natsu very very painful poison. Not deadly, but I've experienced it once and I'd rather not experience it again on its full scale. Natsus voice is still a little raspy despite the health potions, but at least he's not in pain when he talks and doesn't need to clear his throat.

"Yes yes I took it. If anyone would forget about it it'd be Makoto, that guy forgets his brain every day."

My teammate snort softly at my serious deceleration, his smile widening into a grin as he covers his mouth slightly with his hand. It's nothing wrong with saying truths, that guy still get on my nerves with his fucking attitude so I can at least mock him instead of beating him into a pulp. … Not that I would actually beat him up that much since I'm trying to be better, but that guy is making it really really hard.

"Well that's just rude Mio, he's not-."

"Hey maggots!"

My eyebrow twitch when I hear Makoto approach us with that rude interrupting name calling, turning my head to glare at him as he's getting closer. He has a shit eating grin on his face which grows even wider at my glare, like he enjoys my anger.

"Call me maggot one more time and I'll bust your fucking face in…"

My threat doesn't seem to face him at all, his large fan strapped to his back as he's walking towards us with confidence in his steps. As he reaches me, he crosses his arms and makes sure to lean over slightly, just to show that he's taller than I am. My eyebrow twitch angrily at his cocky attitude, trying and failing to keep my anger in check. This fucking brat...

"Oh really~? _Maggot_."

Thankfully, Yohio hasn't given me any order to not start a fight since that first time he did it; we did have a serious talk about it to which he promised to not give me an order unless it's absolutely necessary. So I eagerly, and very angrily, punch Makoto hard into his face, enough to have him fall to the ground with a hard "whack" sound. I can feel Natsu quickly wrap his arms around my shoulders and I struggle to get out of his, the burning anger in my chest controlling my actions as I just want to punch him more.

"Shut the fuck up you stupid bastard! I'm not a fucking maggot! I'm not that fucking short, you piece of shit!"

"M-Mio calm down, you're still growing."

Natsu says sheepishly, still struggling to hold me back from attacking Makoto any more than I already have. Our teammate is nursing his cheek as he sit up, glaring angrily at me as I'm still kicking and struggling in Natsus grip to get free. Not knowing when to fucking quit, or taking pleasure in my anger, Makoto continue to mock me as I'm being held back by Natsu. The only reason I didn't manage to break free when he just continued to insult me was because Yohio appeared in the clearing between me and Makoto, placing a hand on my head and letting his chakra enter my system to effectively snuff out the anger burning in my chest. I blink up at my cousin when my body instantly relax at his presence, the older boy wearing a sheepish grin on his face as he lightly ruffle my head.

"Well, this shows I'm not letting you go on your own again. You're not that short Mio, you're just young."

I snort softly at that and feel Natsu let go of me with a soft sigh in relief, I roll my shoulders with a slight frown on my face. I adjust my hair slightly as it got messed up by Yohio, aiming a glare towards Makoto who has stood up by now.

"Well maybe instead of you keeping me calm, maybe Bakoto should stop pissing me off."

"What did you call me shorty?!"

Makoto screams out angrily, stepping forward as he glare back at me just as fiercely. I scoff, putting my hands on my hips as I tilt my head towards Makoto. Now with Yohio's presence here to help me, I can keep my anger somewhat in check. Even if I absolutely hate how he's insulting my height...

"You're getting deaf, _Bakoto_? Maybe I should call you that every day with how your stupid ass never learns to not piss me off."

"Quiet."

Me and Makoto freeze up at Yohio's commanding tone and I glance up at my cousin and take a slight step away from Makoto, a way to show I'm willing to back off. After all, I can control my temper a lot better with my cousin standing next to me and encouraging my chakra to buzz happily. Yohio's eyes are narrowed with his purple eyes almost glowing as he looks between the two of us.

"Makoto, stop riling up Mio and make her angry. Mio, stop falling for his jibes when I'm not here, you need to control your temper. We're not supposed to be fighting each other but fight _together_. Got that?"

"Yes, sensei."

I mumble softly, looking away while crossing my arms with my frown growing deeper. I'm trying to be better, I am, but with that fucking brat constantly mocking me in any way he can it's really hard. Makoto echo me on the other side of Yohio and it gets quiet between us all until Natsu step up closer to the group and I can hear the wide grin in his voice as he talk to Yohio.

"Thank you, sensei. I thought I had to poison them both again if you hadn't come when you did."

I shiver slightly at the mention of him poisoning us, aiming a slight glare towards Natsu. His poison really hurts my nerve system even if I have gained a better resistance to it. He's used it to break up fights, mostly towards Makoto since he's the one challenging my temper. Yohio just laugh and lightly ruffle Natsus hair, Yohio approve of Natsus method to break up fights since he know he won't be there to calm me down further down the road.

"Well, good you didn't have to then. Because today, you'll be working together like usual but this time it's ambush practice. Ambush practice in enemy territory."

"Ambush? But sensei, you can't play the role of many enemy ninja alone can you?"

Makoto asks softly and I look over to see him frown in confusion towards Yohio. I have a bad feeling about this, ambush practice is hard to do alone. We'd need at least another team to train with and we haven't been notified about it beforehand...

"I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking… Because I refuse."

I say quickly, looking up towards Yohio with my hands squeezing onto my arms hard. I won't let these two enter the ID, no way in hell. They're not- I don't want these two brats to go in there, it's a literal terrifying hell hole not suited for anyone who can't stomach it. Sure, they're ninja, but that's no guarantee they can hold their own against _Zombies_.

"Mio it's-"

I shake my head firmly, looking away from Yohio with a stubborn frown on my face. He was thinking about my ID, but why does he think they're ready for it? I quickly cut him off before he can continue.

"No, no fucking way am I letting them into my dimension. There's _zombies_ there that can infect them with a single _hit_ , how the fuck are they ready for that kind of challenge?"

"Because they're stronger than you think, and they need experience; you all do. We'll all stick together and I'll be there if something goes wrong. That's why I needed to leave later than you did, I got some antidote from Taro."

I look up as Yohio settle his hand on my shoulder, seeing him wave a small vial with white liquid in front of my face. He has a small, understanding smile on his face, but I can see that he'll not back out of this one. At least he's not ordering me… Seeing the antidote does still some of my worries, but I'm not so sure.

"I want you three to have teamwork experience in a battlefield before we go out on missions in the real war, it'd really help us all."

I look up towards my teammates, eyes flickering between the two of them. Makoto looks a little confused but excited at the prospect of entering my ID while Natsu looks curious about the whole ordeal. I then look back to Yohio, my cousin is displaying such confidence that I can't help but believe him and accept his request. I'm going to regret this, I can feel it… so I take a deep breath and nod while closing my eyes, shoulders growing slack.

"Ok… ok, fine, I'll let them in. But only if _I_ am the only one who get in close combat with them."

"We'll be let into your other dimension?"

Makoto asks loudly, making me look up at him as he's wearing a wide grin on his face. I nod slightly to him, making Makoto cheer loudly at the confirmation. Why is he so excited by this? Training ground 5 is in the middle of the village so we can't start here, we need to go further towards the village walls. I lightly grab onto Yohio's sleeve like the kid I am and start walking towards the wall of Suna, taking a deep breath to try and calm my beating heart as memories of the chuunin failure flash through my head. I won't let these two get hit in this ID.

"Ah, you two. We can't enter here, let's go closer to the wall yeah? We don't want the high level ones to attack us first."

My teammates follow once Yohio has said that and my cousin let me lead to where we'll start. I need to tell them some rules, what I tell everyone before they enter the ID. I've done this many times now, but since the shadow Kage incident the nervousness of letting strangers into the ID hasn't dissipated in any way. I glance back towards my teammates, still holding Yohio's sleeve to lead him on.

"There will be rules set up. This dimension is special, they don't die immediately; keep on attacking until they fade to dust. Don't separate from the group or I won't be able to save you if you do something stupid. Don't attack just any zombie you see either; they might be surprisingly strong even if we start in a low level area. We work together, always, no one attack on their own. If I say go, we fucking _go_ , got it?"

I can see Natsu nod immediately, a wide comforting smile on his face. Makoto nod, a little more unsure as he's staring at me.

"Got it. Thanks for letting us in, Mio. I've wanted to see it for myself since you told us about it."

I mumble a soft 'you're welcome' to Natsu, facing forward again while tightening my hold on Yohio's sleeve. I hope Yohio faith in their strength isn't misplaced, I don't want another death on my hands... We continue walking until we're at the outer ring of Suna where low level zombies will be and I let go of my cousin to take a deep breath and shake away the memories wanting to resurface. We can do this, Yohio will be there too.

"Alright, place your hand on me, shoulders and arms preferably."

They all comply, Yohio gently ruffling my head for reassurance while my teammates place a hand on each of my shoulders. I nod my head to the three of them before I raise my hand into the sky, eyes staring sharply ahead.

"ID create, Zombie."

I say softly, invisible walls surrounding us with a low sounding 'dooooom' as we're transported to the zombie world. I lower my hand as the light darken, my senses stretching out to feel where the enemies are as they appear as dots in my mind all around us. There's no one in this immediate area so I let my teammates look around for now as I keep a mind's eye out, both of them looking around curiously and worriedly at the ruined state of our beloved village.

"Woah… Everything looks so run down."

Yohio glance down towards me with a silent question on who should do the introduction. I nod towards him, looking at my teammates while crossing my arms. The two boys take a step back and focus on our teacher, still taken aback by the world as he starts to speak.

"Welcome to the zombie world. Here is where a disease broke out through the land and made everyone a living dead with a jutsu gone wrong. These zombies are endless and will keep on appearing over and over and anything we destroy here will not be carried over to the real world or be here next time we enter. Don't ever run off on your own or it can end badly, all of these monsters are very lethal and one bite from them might kill you or worse. The only ones the virus doesn't affect in any way are the Masago so don't get into close combat with them."

The two boys nod, though Makoto sheepishly raise his hand to ask a question; slightly out of character for him but I guess he got some sense in his mind.

"Is this, die or 'worse', the contamination Mio mentioned? That you need an antidote for?"

Yohio nod and pull out the vial once more, shaking the liquid inside it's container.

"Yup. If you're bitten and not given the antidote you might become a zombie yourself."

I can see both boys shiver slightly at the thought and they look even more weary than they did before, any excitement of being in this world gone as they've now been effectively frightened by the dangers in this place. I scoff softly and shake my head, frowning towards the two of them.

"Oh get a grip, I've been in this place since I was 6 years old, the low level ones aren't that dangerous, only if you go further into the centre of the village. Also, five signatures to the left of here, Level 2 to 3. One with a limp two missing an arm. They're walking north at a slow pace and we can intercept them."

Yohio nod and I look up at him when he ruffle my short red hair. He has a wide, proud smile on his face that makes my chakra buzz happily despite the uneasy feeling in my stomach. I don't like that kids are in here, but with Yohio here to help it might be fine. I don't think they're strong enough… but I'll trust my cousin on this one.

"Well let's go and get those then. This is ambush training so make sure to plan the ambush properly. Follow their patrol pattern, plan out a way to intercept them and take them out effectively."

I nod along with my teammates at Yohios instructions, this will be… an interesting experience to say the least. I take the lead by jumping up on a roof and run along it towards the group I sensed. Makoto And Natsu flank behind me on either side, the three of us running in a V shape with Yohio running behind us.

"So… what's happened to those who got bitten?"

Makoto asks in interest, sounding a little less confident than he usually does. Of course he'd ask that… I continue along as I answer.

"If they don't get the antidote, they'll turn into a zombie themselves. I haven't seen it since Taro developed an antidote so quickly, but they grow hungrier and hungrier. Skin darkening and turning grey as their internal organs slowly die. The host of the body dies with it but even in death it still moves to consume flesh."

"So all of them are carrying a lethal virus that'll kill you and then resurrect you as one of their kind? And how do you know the process if you haven't seen it?"

Natsu ask, sounding a bit too excited over this virus, which makes no sense to me. Why would he be interested in a virus that makes people into zombies? I frown slightly in disgust as a thought comes to mind, I really hope he's not thinking of different ways it can be useful.

"Yeah but anything that comes from here stays here; we wouldn't want something like this to transcend into our world and kill people. I wouldn't recommend making the virus into a poison, Natsu, it's too dangerous."

I don't want a zombie apocalypse to start in our world because Natsu got too curious, so I better squash his hips before the idea builds further. Now I'm kinda glad that all items get transferred into my inventory and not just lies on the ground, how many other ninja who have come into the ID have thought the same thing?

I stop on top of a high rooftop, motioning for the other two to stop as well while I look down at the group of monsters making their way along the city. I cast a quick observe over them and is pleased when I see I was right about their levels. Two level 3 and three level 2; we can take care these ones, I might've had a hard time on my own but now I'm in a team. I can hear Makoto gag softly at the smell drifting it's way up towards us, but I've gotten used to it by now so I don't react. Natsu doesn't react either but that might be because of his poison experiments smelling just as horrible.

"There they are. This is a pattern group I've seen before, they're going to move along the main road up to the crossroads leading to the kage tower. Natsu, any plan for traps and ambush?"

I turn towards our trap specialist, since he's best at traps, and I can see a calculative look in his eyes while he's observing the zombies down below. He nod slowly as he curl his index finger around his jaw in a thinking pose. This is the first time we get to see him plan a trap and not just talk about it.

"Yes… Yes I do. I'll need some high explosive seals, Mio. Can you make 15?"

"You can get 50 high explosive ones if you need it, I make way too many."

I tell him, pulling out the 15 seals he wanted from my inventory and hand it to him. I may not understand how to make my own seals yet but I can make some good regular ones from the books I've bought in the gamer store. I can write explosion seals and barrier seals by heart now and I'm able to alter their values to increase different properties of the seal. These explosives pack one hell of a punch where I've lessened the range and made the explosions more concentrated to do more damage. I have way too many seals in my inventory that I never use…

Natsu smiles towards me as he grab the seals and take out a roll of ninja wire from his pouch. He has an excited glint in his eyes at the prospect of setting up deadly traps against these monsters, his smile looking more wicked and creepy compared to his usual jovial and carefree attitude..

"Since they won't die immediately, after the explosion Makoto will start with a cutting wind jutsu and I'll use my kusurigana once the jutsu fades. I'll bind them with my chain so you can deal the finishing blow if they're still alive, Mio. A quick take down where they die before anyone else realize it; might not be quiet but it'll be effective nonetheless."

I nod to him with a slight smile, feeling both weirded out by his smile and slightly impressed by his simple yet quick thought out plan. Since he's not the annoying one, I can see myself getting along with his plans unless they're stupid.

"Sounds good. I'm glad you're our strategist, with me and Makotos hotheadedness we need it in our team."

I don't know why I decided to praise him like that but I'm glad I did when I see a bright, happy twinkle appear in his eyes, making his smile look more jovial than creepy. That's a look that suits the blonde boy better, everyone has a dark side but I never thought of Natsu as a sadist. Makoto snort softly at my comment and I can see him cross his arms from the corner of my eye.

"Yeah yeah we're glad to have you… now let's get this over with, those thing stink."

We all nod and jump ahead of the zombies to set up our ambush, with Yohio trailing behind us of course.

* * *

Today, we're going to go on our first mission, finally. We've had some more ambush practices in my zombie ID, getting more and more effective each time, and practiced with another team to perform less lethal ambushes where we capture our target. We also got to experience ambushes but it wasn't that effective when I knew where they were with my chakra sensing ability. With how many ambush training sessions we have done, I'm starting to think that we're an ambush team when I thought we'd be an assault team. I guess it makes sense with Natsu's and Makoto's skill sets to be ambushers, but for me I'm not too sure yet.

I'm walking with Yohio towards our usual training ground, smirking slightly and eager to take on a real mission that'll get us out of the village. The usual D-rank missions are on hold during the start of war and might start up again once we secure our position better. I wonder where we'll go first, probably not outside of wind country, but still. We'll get outside of the village! Yoohio gently place a hand on top of my head, making me look up at his smiling face.

"Ready for your first mission, cherry?"

"You bet I am! What kind of mission are we gonna do?"

I ask him excitedly, grinning widely at my green haired cousin. Yohio looks less excited than I am, but he's still excited for our mission.

"Well, that depends on what's available. But I'll have a message delivering mission be our first mission. Or rather, we'll be doing ONLY message delivery. With the political value of me and the amount of potential you three have we can't afford to do any harder missions until you turn chuunin."

"How do we become chuunin then?"

I ask curiously as we're getting closer to the training ground, tilting my head with a small frown. A little annoying we won't do anything too 'important' but I can also kinda understand why we'd be stuck on message duty. As he said, Yohio will be the next clan head and no one would want a clan head to die on dangerous missions before he's even appointed. I've never actually learned how you become chuunin, let alone jounin during a war period; it's something they'd go through later years in the academy. There's a lot I've missed in school in favor of graduating early, but my skills make up for my lack in knowledge. I know about the chuunin exams that they made after the third shinobi war, but I don't know how you become a jounin.

"Ah, you don't know? Well, I might as well tell all three of you to make sure they know as well."

Yohio says with a smile, playfully ruffling my hair as we continue to walk. I huff softly in irritation, fixing the mess he made with a slight glare aimed towards my grinning cousin. My hitai ate helps in keeping my hair out from my eyes, sure, but I still don't like it when my hair is messed up; it's messy enough as it is on its own. He just chuckle at my irritated glare, the annoyance in my chest fading into a happy buzz as I see his smile and I just look at the road ahead of us once more.

When we get to the training ground, Makoto and Natsu are already there with the two of them talking to each other where Makoto is being loud and rude while Natsu tries to disperse the argument that doesn't make any sense. From what I can hear it has to do with food and heat..? I still don't get why Makoto is so set on getting on everyone's nerves, but as long as he doesn't insult my abilities or my height I can take his comments with only light irritation in my chest. He's still getting on my nerves constantly, but I've learned to handle him. … Somewhat better. I still punch him every morning when he insults me to have him shut up and hopefully learn to not fucking mess with my temper, there's only so much Yohio can help me. My cousin see this as a lost case and let me punch Makoto when he deserves a beating, probably hoping Makoto will eventually learn through this. At least that's what I think he thinks, I could be wrong.

Makoto notice us first, frowning at me while crossing his arms grumpily and quickly end the argument with the other boy. I smirk slightly at the fan user, raising an eyebrow in surprise when he doesn't immediately throw an insult my way; maybe he's finally learning to not make me angry. He knows I'm stronger even if I'm younger than him and that won't ever change, my punches will only get harder the more I grow.

"Good morning students~. I hope you don't mind waking up this early."

Yohio says with a hand raised in greeting towards the two boys. Natsu shake his head with a warm smile aimed our way, shifting to face us while Makoto is still looking grumpy. It's 6am in the morning, not that early in my opinion. But that might only be because I never sleep.

"Oh, no not at all. I usually get up around this time anyway to tend to my plants."

"Well I hope we just get a good mission for waking up this early, I didn't even get to eat breakfast!"

Makoto shouts out angrily, almost the complete opposite of Natsu's calm persona. Our team is really something; two loud mouths, one more sensible than the other, and one calm and positive guy. And our teacher who can be downright scary when he wants to be but is mostly happy and cheerful. Yup, our team is one of a kind in Suna, not that many loudmouths here in the quiet desert. It would've been better without Makoto in the mix but I'm doing my very best to not be constantly annoyed with him.

"Yes, yes, we'll get a good first mission. Let's go to the tower then."

Yohio replies cheerfully and start to walk in the direction of the Kazekage tower. I fall in step behind him since he's the teacher now, not the cousin, and the other two flank either side of me. I'm not sure why I always end up in the middle, but it's not like I mind it too much; just annoying to have a constant reminder that I'm shorter than everyone else in my team. Training ground 5 is close to the tower, thankfully, so we don't need to walk that far to reach the Kazekage tower. As we walk though, Yohio ask the other two a question that I was wondering beforehand.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Do the two of you know how you can become chuunin and jounin during war time?"

I look between the boys, a little thankful that they're both wearing expressions of confusion. Seems like I was wrong about the academy going through the process during later years in the school if they don't know.

"Uhm… no? We didn't learn about that."

Makoto says with a slight frown as he glance over my head towards Natsu. Natsu just shake his head at the silent question, shrugging his shoulders. Damn them for being taller than me… I will get into my growth spurt soon enough and then I'll be as tall as they are.

"I see. Well, it's based on missions or accomplishments. To become a chuunin you need to have done at least 10 D-rank missions and 5 C-rank ones. However, our team will be aiming to do 15 C-rank missions or more to make the three of you chuunin. To become a jounin, I started to train for the clan head position but I also had to do 5 B-rank missions. I know that my friend Sasori did 15 C-rank and 10 B-rank missions to become a jounin. I'm not sure how many you'll need during war time, but as the war goes on the need for jounin will increase. So let's do our best on the C-rank missions, yeah?"

We all nod with Makoto letting out an excited cheer, but I frown slightly as I think of this information. Maybe… Maybe it's time that I unlocked an SSP ability again; we'll be going out on the field and I might need the extra boost I could get from my abilities. So I open up my menu screen and go over to my inventory to press 'use' on the 15 SSP scrolls I've gotten through the years; the points start rolling in in quick succession until I have a total of 87 SSP points I can use. I start scrolling through the abilities I've unlocked, humming softly in thought as we're still walking towards the Kazekage building. There are so many to choose from... I look up at Yohio's back as we enter the Kazekage tower, ignoring the curious looks my older teammates aim my way.

"Sensei, I need a bit of advice. What kind of jutsus should I focus on during the war? Offensive, defensive or chakra management?"

Yohio glance back to blink at me, making his way up to the stairs to where the mission desk is. He understands what I'm asking about when he sees the window hovering in front of me, but my teammates just sound lost on the conversation topic. I think the reason they aren't saying anything is because this is another 'Masago thing' that me and Yohio just love to use as an excuse when we do something only we would understand.

"Well… I'd say offensive or chakra management would suit you better. Which are you thinking about?"

I jog up to be beside Yohio while we walk through the crescent moon shaped corridor, letting him see all the SSP skills I can unlock and how much SSP I have. We soon have to stop and wait in line anyway and the two of us look through the large list I have available.

"These ones. I still haven't figured out them all but I figure since it's our first mission I should use something of it."

"Hmm…"

Yohio hum curiously, scrolling through my screen with a calculating look in his eyes as he analyze the usefulness of each ability I've unlocked. I think he's picking apart every good and bad aspect of it all. I've started to unlock stuff from My hero academia, the show is ok if you see past the wimpy main character, so there's a lot to choose from. Fairy tail, Bleach and The gamer all have 10 skills I can choose from. And there's going to be even more that I can choose from.

"What about these ones? Mythical mana and Sage's wisdom. They'll be really useful for your Jutsus. Wabisuke, Benehime and Shirayuki all sound good as well but you don't have the chakra reserves for the latter two… Out of them all, I'd say Copy, Wabisuke, Sakanade, Mythical mana and Sage's wisdom are abilities you could use for now, mostly the latter two since they'll help manage your chakra."

I nod slowly at what Yohio says, looking back towards my skill window to look over the abilities he mentioned. I have to agree with him on all of that… Wabisuke makes anything I hit double in weight each time I hit it, which could throw off someone's balance easily if I manage to hit them. Copy lets me copy another person's kekkei genkai if I touch them and I can use it for 5 minutes. That's be kinda cool… Sakanade warp another person's reality to be flipped but that's everyone's reality including my allies. Maybe I should just go with Sage's wisdom and Mythical mana first like he suggested... Mythical mana increase my jutsu damage by 200% and decreases CP usage by 95%. Sage's wisdom increases my chakra regeneration by 600% and decrease jutsu damage against me with 600%. Those are both pretty damn powerful…

"Alright… So maybe I'll focus on the chakra one's first with Wabisuke, since it's the cheapest one. That way I could have a better time using Jutsus and immobilize any opponent we come in contact with. Copy sounds so nice though…."

"You'll get enough points for it in no time, trust me."

Yohio says reassuringly, a wide grin aimed at me. I'm still a little unsure, but he's right about my chakra reserves. I can't use many of these with how little chakra I have at the moment.

"I got points for mine during missions. You get around 2 for each C mission depending on the difficulty."

"Huh… well alright then."

I nod slightly, taking a deep breath. I don't like to use SSP before I've unlocked all my abilities but I might need them. I tap on those three skills I want to choose before I press on 'accept' as the Maker ask if I really want to make that purchase. I can't help the shiver running through me as I can feel my chakra change violently, twisting inside me as the skill is taking effect. I sway slightly on my feet from the drastic change and my vision darkens gradually until it fades into black.

Once I return to the real world, I find myself being carried piggyback style by Yohio. I blink slowly and lift my head to look around us, trying to register where we are with my groggy mind. We're making our way out from the Kazekage tower…?

" _Now_ you wake up! Didn't you say you didn't need sleep? You just passed out on your feet."

I turn slightly to see Makoto walk on my right with a very angry frown on his face. I'm still a bit drowsy so I can't properly understand what he said, I slept? That can't be right, I don't want to sleep...

"I told you two, it's just a little nap to adjust to new abilities. How are you Mio?"

Yohio tell the annoying fan boy with a quiet sigh, looking at me from the corner of his eye with a gentle smile. I blink slowly as I register his question before I nod, my mind still a bit hazy. But yeah I feel ok, tired but ok. Yohio stop long enough to set me down on my feet and I instinctively grab hold of his hand while I rub the sleep from my eyes, unsure of what's going on at this moment in time. I'm glad it's only Yohio here...

"Neve happen before… why?"

Yohio chuckle softly at my sleep induced mumbles, gently tugging me along through the building. Why are we outside the compound?

"Because it changed your chakra, your body need to adjust."

I hum softly at that, nodding as I stay close to Yohio. I rarely sleep but when I actually do, I need a few minutes to properly wake up before I can function properly.

"Mmn, sleepy… Dun like sleep."

"I know you don't, Mio."

He gently ruffle my hair as he lead me out from the Kazekage tower. Why were we there again? I huff and pout slightly at him, eyes half lidded in an effort to keep my eyes open.

"Why no wake up…?"

"Because I couldn't."

He is looking very, very amused but I have no idea why. I huff again, holding onto his hand a little tighter and lean my head against his side as we continue to walk, but I have no idea where.

"Meany… dun like sleep."

"I-I know you don't."

He says with a slight laugh and that's when it finally registers that there are people behind us when I hear a loud snort together with Yohios laugh. I glance back to see what that sound was.

Makoto is currently covering his mouth with both hands, cheeks puffed out and eyes tearing up from holding back his laughter. Natsu is covering his mouth with a clenched fist to try and hide the wide grin he's wearing. I frown, confused why they're here and why they're reacting like that.

"Why you like that? Bakoto…"

All laughter that he was holding back disappeared as I call him by his 'oh so beloved' name and he glare hard at me with his fist raised. Natsu is still grinning widely.

"What did you say brat?!"

I grit my teeth at what he calls me, letting go of Yohios hand to walk up a bit as I hold up a fist as a silent threat to Makoto.

"Brat…? I'll fucking show you brat you-."

I get cut off as Yohio settle a hand on my head, making me relax and yawn in my drowsy state. Ok so… Kazekage tower, team, mission right. I turn towards Yohio, remembering how we were gonna get a mission and wondering how that went.

"We got a mission 'hio?"

"Sensei."

He correct me lightly and flick my forehead, making me flinch and rub the now sore spot while glaring at him. Stupid… I'm still drowsy so I don't have that much energy to fight back either, and he knows it.

"But yeah we got a mission. You ready to run?"

"I'm always ready to run. You better not slow us down. Especially you Bakoto."

I declare proudly, grinning weakly up at my elder cousin before I turn my face towards my teammates. Or more specifically Makoto who immediately get angry when I once more call him that.

"Stop calling me that you fucking shrimp!"

He screams out loudly in return, taking a step forward with his own glare aimed at me. Natsu gently settle a hand on Makotos shoulder, trying to dissuade him and Yohio is quick to subdue my anger before it can blow up by gently guiding me towards the exit of the village.

"Now come on you three, we have a message to deliver."

I snort loudly, arms crossed as I follow along with Yohio, ignoring that the stupid fan user exists. I really don't like that guy… but I gotta admit our teamwork has gotten better through the weeks we've been training. It doesn't take us long until we exit the village and are out in the sandy Suna air, making me smile happily at the warmth from the morning sun. I really like Suna and it's heat... I adjust the cloak I have over my shoulders, looking over my team; I don't know the mission details but I'm sure Yohio know them so I'll just follow his lead. Like a student should do to their teacher.

"Alright then, this will be a two day mission. One day there and one day back. Ready?"

Me and the other two younger boys shout out a unison 'yes sir!' to which Yohio nod in approval. We then set off, moving towards our target. We may not be out in the war or not even out of wind country, but I'm excited to finally do missions for my home. Suna May have crooked buildings and not the best weather all the time. But I still love it with my whole heart. And any way that I can contribute to it is a win on my part…

* * *

And here comes the war. Hehehe~. Been looking forward to this for quite some time. X3 I hope you're also looking forward to it, I'll do my best to look through next chapter as soon as I can.

 **This chapter's question:** What do you want to happen with Kurisu Sakyou, the little mouse she was somewhat friends with in school?

 **Review replies:**

 **AnnaRozeDog:** GetBackers, I haven't heard about that one before... Now I gotta go and check it out! Thanks. ^^

And thank you so much, hearing that makes me very happy. X3 I hope you'll continue to enjoy it as the plot thickens!

 **EmikoTsubasa:** Useful SSP, ok. I like chocolate a lot, yes. But I don't answer questions about other stories on this one, sorry, I'm trying to keep it strictly to Heat of a heart.

 **GinHanelle:** So many beautiful reviews! *0* I'll answer them in order.

I'm glad you found it, thank you! X3 Aah Konoha, yeah it is pretty neat. And Oto, that's a curious surprise for me with Orochimaru creating it, nice. But yes I also adore Uzu, so sad. ;-;

Sharingan, gotcha. And agreed, sharingan look waaay cooler than byakugan. Much more uses with sharingan too, memorisation, jutsu, chakra view, lots of cool stuff.

Nice to know you like her name~. X3 Thank you!

Yeeeh Mio was not happy. XD So gamer as favorite anime power, gotcha. Well the reason I ask these questions is to have other people's opinion on how my story should change or what plot points I'll aim for. Sure, I've already written some and some stuff I ask are already decided, but I see this as a way to involve my readers into the story to affect the outcome. I have a few plot points I've decided that I don't want to share but I also have a few that are undecided that I want my readers to help me decide on. For example, the last SSP power group that I STILL haven't decided on what it should be. XD

Hey it's ok, there aren't anime plot points in this story other than Naruto so you don't need to have seen the other anime's to read this one. I'll explain the powers she'll get as she receive them anyway. ^^ And oh my god, Saeki kuno is so fun and awesome. XD Naaw, thank you. But yes, English isn't my first language. I'm doing my best with grammar but there still might be a few things I get wrong from time to time, but I'm doing my best. But being involved in the story is great! Thank you! And gotcha, she is kinda a nerd in sensing chakra so it's something to do with chakra? XD

Thank you! And now I get to reply to your reviews. ^^ It's not that she'll get a physical pokemon, but she'll be able to receive powers from pokemon. Pokemon moves. So I've chosen some pokemon moves that she'll be able to buy later on once she unlocks them. Oh yes HP anime would be amazing, but sadly it's not to be. ;-; But yeah, it's to limit the amount of powers she can recieve but also give the Maker (me) an easier time to keep track of which powers each Reset will have. They're limited to one cultural media each. Games, movies, cartoons, anime. And Mio was lucky enough to have been an anime nerd when she received anime.

Hey that's ok, not everyone knows all anime after all. Well with the killing it really depends on the person and what their life was like before arriving in a different world. And a Resets only fear is connected to their time of death, to which Mio saw someone die before she died. That's why she has problem with death, since she saw it upon dying and connect death with her own previous death. Well you don't know that because Mio doesn't know. ;)

XD Hey that's ok. Christmas was long ago, I don't remember my present either.

Yeees an unwanted rivalry has been created. X3

(We'll see what happens.) Oh don't worry, Konoha will come in the future. First is war stuff, then after that Konoha can come. Because Mio need it for a quest so of course it'll happen. I had the exact same thing in the beginning but no, it gotta be one S! XD


	17. Maker's wrath

Hello! Updating ahead of schedule to make up for last one that came late! ^^

This is a chapter I've been very much looking forward to~. It's a little more on the shorter side but I felt that it was fitting. I hope you'll find it interesting. Enjoy~.

 **Warning!: Needles! (Might be sensitive to some people I donno)**

* * *

 _Writing in this text Means flashes from her previous life_

 **Maker's wrath**

We've completed another delivery mission, this one being deliver rations for an outpost close to the border. Things have been relatively calm, no action to speak of for my team. The most action we got are fights between me and Makoto here and there but those can't be called fights anymore, more like bickering cause I have been able to manage my temper and is not hitting him as much anymore. So it's loud bickering between the two of us that Natsu or Yohio sometimes intervene on if it's getting too heated.

Ever since I 'upgraded' my chakra coils it's felt different when I do anything. When I focused on myself with my chakra sense I am a lot sharper with my chakra than I was before. And I've realized one thing; I'm an endless chakra battery for all of my jutsu.

The amount of chakra I need to use for Justs are decreased by 95% through Mythical mana ability. That means if I use the Wabisuke ability, which originally costs me 500 CP/min, I only use 25 CP/min with my decreased chakra usage. Add onto that my 600% increased chakra regeneration from Sage's wisdom, I regenerate 732 CP/min. The amount of chakra I use up doesn't even come close to how much chakra I regenerate. I feel so _powerful_ when I figured out the math and I'm extremely glad that I read The gamer to get this ability. Han Jee Han is a fucking _beast_ when it came to his mana and now it's been transferred over to me! I'm very very thankful for it.

I don't have to take breaks when unlocking memories anymore to regenerate my chakra reserves, every night we've been out on missions I've sat down during our rest periods and unlocked ability after ability in My hero academia thanks to these passive abilities I have. I adore my gaming power, it's so fucking cool, but all of these power ups makes me wonder if Yohio and Taro have had the same opportunity as I have; or is it only me with how much of an anime nerd I was in my past life? I haven't really thought of asking them about it but I really should do that one day. I think Yohio mentioned he get power from games but he didn't specify what...

I had Yohio teach me another jutsu, great fireball jutsu, so now I have two fire jutsus that I can use. And I can use both great fireball and dragon breath however much I want thanks to my incredible chakra power up.

Me and Yohio have the night shift along with a few other ninja in the camp, it lying just past the start of a rocky forest with some patches of grass peeking out from underneath the sand. My senses are stretched out around us to be aware of any enemies that want to sneak up on us while my cousin and I are playing with cards to pass time; specifically go fish, and we have many games to choose from thanks to Yohio's past life knowledge as a card playing nerd. I wouldn't call him a nerd cause he actually competed in card playing but still.

"You have any 5..?"

"Go fish."

Yohio says and I huff as I once again pick up a card from the small foldable table which has our deck of cards on top of it. Yohio is the only one who's gathered up pairs, I always end up asking for the wrong things.

"You have any 10?"

I sigh softly as I hand over the two 10 I have on hand and Yohio happily creates another complete stack by his side of the small table. He's destroying me in any card game we try even if I know the card game well.

I can feel something twitch at the end of my senses and I tense up, looking over in that direction as I slowly put down my handful of cards. I focus hard, eyes narrowed while I search for the source of the disturbance; there was something there, I know it, even if it was very brief.

"Mio…?"

"Disturbance… I'm looking…"

I mumble back to my cousin, frowning more when I can't seem to find anything for a few seconds. I can hear Yohio putting away the cards and the small table as I focus and I slowly start to stand up. My chakra sense is in a very high level, I can't just lose track of something, unless they're high level ninja and are skilled in hiding their chakra… I grit my teeth, 'clawing' away any nature chakra with my mind's eye as I'm still searching for the thing that caught my attention. Where is it?

There!

My eyes widen slightly and I gesture in Yohio's direction with one hand and point in the direction I can sense it with my other. I can't take my focus off of these when I've found them; enemies, hard and sturdy feeling to their chakra. Rock…

"Enemies at 10, sturdy and most likely Iwa. 7 targets all with great chakra suppression, arrive in a minute."

I state loudly for the rest of the night shift to hear including my cousin, gaze unfocused as I keep a mind's eye on the enemies with my hands moving towards my bo staff to hold it out in front of me. They're all moving in this direction without hesitation, they're definitely moving to destroy this camp and know exactly where it is. Two split off from the group to go to another location further off… backup? I twirl my staff around to extend it to its full length and shift in a battle stance facing the direction they're coming from. They're getting closer…

"Makoto."

I say out loud, not sure if he's even next to me, and I form the seals for the great fireball jutsu while sticking my bo staff to my arm through chakra. I'm kinda sure that Yohio has woken everyone up but I can't focus too much on my immediate surroundings or I'll lose my sight on the enemies. I can hear someone say 'yeah.' In response, which confirms he's next to me.

Right when the enemy ninja burst out from behind the rocks to the north of our camp, I unleash my great fireball jutsu at them with Yohio performing the same jutsu beside me to make it stronger. To make the ball of flames stronger still; after we release the jutsu Makotos wind back us up to give the flames more juice. I can feel it hit one of them with the rest getting away from our surprise attack, mostly likely hurt but moving. I hope we could've gotten more of them with that...

I have to jump back when a few thrown kunai are aimed at me and one of Yohio's two puppets appear before me to block more of them as I didn't see all. I take a chance to glance around the camp, seeing my fellow Suna ninja engage in battle with the other four Iwa individuals. The puppet in front of me disappear with a few clicking sounds as Yohio rush off to take care of a ninja on his own. I turn towards my team, or more specifically Natsu since he's more of a planner than I am and this is literally the first time we're in a battle. The blonde point towards a larger tent more towards the desert, where the supplies of this camp is held.

"We should stand guard at the supplies, make sure no enemies get to it."

Makoto nod slightly in agreement and I frown a bit as I glance towards the fighting ninja around us, but hesitantly nod in agreement as well. I want to help, not just be a guard dog for supplies, but the supplies are important and there are two others who have not appeared yet. My eyes widen when I can see an enemy jump straight towards us, aiming for Natsu's back as we're starting to move towards the tent. I quickly shove my teammate out of the way to intercept the sword with my metal bo staff, struggling to hold the older ninja back with their Iwa hitai ate gleaming in the dim firelight from the middle of the camp. He's strong, but I can't let this guy touch my teammates…!

"Wabisuke… Swift agility..."

I mumble softly, my bo staff glowing in a faint pink aura when the ability takes effect. With my increased speed and new jutsu coating my weapon to double the weight of anything I hit, I start to trade quick blows with him while barely keeping up with his speed. As we continue to trade blows, I can see him struggling more and more as his weapon's weight continues to be doubled when I hit it and he's getting increasingly annoyed that I can barely keep up with him. He's still holding onto it.

I quickly duck when I can feel Natsu's chakra flare up, a wave of senbon flying through the air right above my head, in a move that we've practiced in my zombie ID. The enemy ninja jump away from the senbon and I quickly run through the seals for my dragon breath jutsu, unleashing the fire towards the Iwa ninja with Makoto's wind soon supporting it and making it even stronger. The enemy is forced to protect himself, rising up a wall of earth to block the hot onslaught of our combined jutsu. This formation that we've practiced always kill a few zombies at a time so I shouldn't be surprised that a talented ninja deflects it.

Despite this I use my increased speed to body flicker behind the Iwa ninja, my bo staff now taken apart into two tonfa as I swing my weapon towards his head. The enemy blocks my first hit and I can see him flinch when the weight of his sword double once more from my jutsu. He's forced to finally drop it so he can avoid my second hit and jump back away from me and away from the walls cover, which is what I wanted him to do. Because there is Natsus kusurigana, the chain chiming as it's flying in an arc through the air to cut into the enemy ninja. The Iwa ninja manage to dodge a lethal slice through his body but Natsu still manages to nick him in the shoulder, just enough to let his poison sink in and take effect. The enemy falls to his knees in pain as his nerves are being fried from inside out as the poison quickly spreads through his body, but he still look ready to fight through the pain.

While the enemy is distracted, I launch forward and hit him in the stomach with my tonfa before he can defend himself, making his overall body weight double in his abdomen. I hit him three more times on different spots on his body until the ninja falls to the ground on his back, unable to move a single muscle due to the sheer weight pressing down on his muscles. I spare a glance towards my teammates with a wide grin on my face, kinda proud that we managed to pull it off and dispatch of a ninja this quickly using both improvised and practiced teamwork. Makoto is grinning back at me, holding his fan in a ready position and proud as ever. Natsu smiles at me with a light nod, his confidence glowing as he readies his kusurigana with the chain wrapped around his arm. The three of us then survey the battlefield to see what we can do with me cancelling out the swift agility I have activated.

Yohio has taken down one, working on his second ninja with a bit of help from a Suna comrade, his poison is very lethal so those two are dead meat. We've taken care of one which leaves the last one. The last Iwa ninja is struggling to keep up with the chuunin ganging up on him, but he has still killed a few of them with their bodies littering on the ground. That one's the strongest among the group. I glance towards Natsu and Makoto when I hear Natsu move and I quickly follow him since he must have some sort of plan; we're running towards the suppliers tent, well I can see why because if that ninja took out chuunin with that many on him we don't have much of a chance against him. Even if I want to fight him to see how strong he is, it might end up with my death; I don't have that many useful abilities when it comes to overpowering a much stronger opponent.

When I glance over towards the fight, I can see that the last enemy ninja is starting to look desperate and when he spot us running towards the supplier tent not that far away from the main fight he quickly disengage with the chuunin to jump away. I hear a cry of pain from the Iwa ninja Yohio was fighting just as the strongest one throw down two smoke bombs down on the ground to envelop the whole camp in smoke, very powerful smoke bombs that's slightly embedded with chakra to cloud even my senses. Me and the two boys stop as the smoke envelop us and I have to cough out some bad smelling smoke that accidentally got caught in my lungs. Even with the cloud of smoke and chakra, I can feel the enemy's chakra moving fast, moving towards _me and my team_. My swift agility has worn off, I thought I wouldn't need it anymore, and we're all taken off guard by the sudden smoke that the enemy threw down. I'm not fast enough to intercept him as I _just_ noticed he's within arms length from me and the other two.

Time seems to slow down as I react on instinct more than anything, crying out a quick 'stay back' before I swing with my bo staff at Makoto's stomach to push him away so it's I who is the first one to be intercepted by the enemy. I literally put myself in Makoto's place just in time to get a hard punch to the stomach, making me drop my staff in the process. My breath gets knocked out of me when he does this and just as fast as the enemy appeared before me and my team, he takes hold of me around my waist and run away while I'm still struggling to breathe. What's with adults and always punching me in the stomach? Rasa does the same damn thing.

The camp is getting further away as I still struggle to breathe, hands clutching onto the Iwa ninja's arm to try and pry myself free from his grasp; but he's just too strong. Damn it! I shakily lift up my arm to try and ram my elbow into his side, but the Iwa ninja moves a lot faster than I do. He throws me against a rock when he noticed what I was about to do, my back colliding hard with its surface and I'm once again unable to breathe for a few seconds due to the force of the throw. But those few seconds feels like an eternity and as I'm still struggling to breathe I can barely see a window pop up, indicating a call from Yohio. I need to answer… I'm just able to lift my hand and press the green button on the window surface before something hard collides with my temple. My whole skull ring and shakes in pain as I fall down on my side and my vision fades into black as I can hear Yohio's panicked voice on the other end of my call.

I slowly come back from unconsciousness, keeping my breathing slow and body limp without really knowing why or how I fell asleep and got in this position. It's just instinct; my thoughts are sluggish as I slowly take in my surroundings with my chakra sense and my other senses. I'm swaying, moving, someone is carrying me over their shoulder and I can hear faint voices around me. I continue to force my body to stay limp despite the pain of someone's shoulder digging into my stomach, breathing slow as my shoulders are screaming to have some sort of relief from the current hanging position of my arms. I can sense three of them, Iwa...

"-should they be out for? You didn't hit the brat too hard did you?"

"Nah she'll be out for a few hours more. Wasn't the brat I aimed for but she's more of a jackpot."

"Yeah, yeah but you all failed the primary mission. What's captain going to say?"

"At least we're bringing a Masago brat, that has to be accounted for something."

I register the conversation and frown a little as the three continue to talk about what they should do when they get back. They're bringing me with them cause I'm a Masago, but he was aiming for Makoto; they didn't know I was a Masago on the battlefield but they know of me and my abilities now for some reason. Why did he want to take Makoto? Was it because he's a clan kid and they wanted a clan hostage? I pushed Makoto away before I could even wonder why they went after him in the first place and now they say I'm _more_ of a jackpot, that can't be good for my case… I need to do something; I can't be taken into enemy custody or I'd never be able to get out. I need to get away from these three before they reach any kind of encampment or place to stay. Yohio… I picked up his call before didn't I?

" **No she's definitely alive, I'm still connected to her. … Don't worry, she's strong. She'll hold on until we can find her.** "

The conviction in Yohio's voice makes me believe that he's talking to my teammates, specifically trying to calm them down. How long have I been unconscious? The guy who's carrying me is in the middle of these three enemy ninja, maybe if I'm fast enough I can distract them long enough to use my ID, it needs a second or two to take effect and I can't be touching any of them while I activate it. I have to try, I can't just hang here like a rag doing nothing until they stop, then it might be too late. They want me for something and I don't want to know what that is.

I quickly deliver a chakra infused elbow to the one holding me right at the back of his neck, making him jerk forward in pain and loosen his grip on me. The other two cry out in surprise when I move and I use the one holding me as a springboard to jump up into the air, pushing off from his stomach to get away from them.

"Dragon breath!"

I shout out and unleash a stream of fire towards them to try and gain more distance between us, the jutsu propelling me a bit further from them through the air. I can hear Yohio shout out a surprised but gleeful 'Mio!' from our connection but I can't let that distract me now. I land on my feet, the jutsu dying from my lips as I feel the three of them are quickly surrounding me. Before I get the chance to open my mouth and use my ID create, one of them grab onto my arm and force me to the ground with the dirt digging painfully into my cheek. I wasn't fast enough...

I can't help the pained cry from escaping me as my arm is twisted into a harsh lock behind my back, digging my free hand into the dirt to try and crawl away from them. Fuck, that really hurts.

"Let me go, shitheads!"

I scream out in frustration as I grit my teeth against the pain, still struggling to break his hold yet the enemy is way too strong for me. The one holding me stomp his foot on my back and I struggle to hold back another cry of pain, it feels like he's trying to snap my back with how he's digging his heel into me. But I don't want Yohio to hear me like this, so I won't utter a single fucking noise…

"A few more hours you said…?"

"I hit her in the temple! She shouldn't have woken up so soon!"

"Well she obviously did. I shouldn't have trusted your judgment, man."

"Oh you shut up."

The three are talking as if I'm not there… fucking bastards. While they're distracted I whisper softly for Yohio to hear me. I need to tell him that I'm ok, even with pain laced in my voice I need to tell him.

"I'll-... g-get out of this. Don't chase, please. They-They want clans, Masago…"

"What are you whispering about?"

I have to swallow another pained cry when the guy holding me stomp on my back once more and I tilt my head to glare up at him, tears starting to gather in the corners of my eyes but I refuse to let them fall.

"B-Buzz off you bastard."

" **Mio…** "

I feel so guilty when I hear Yohio's pained mumble from the other end of the call, but I can't have them walk into enemy territory just for me. As long as I can get into my ID, I'll be able to get back home and I know I'll eventually be able to activate it.

"I'll knock her out, _properly_ this time."

I don't even have time to register what that guy said before I'm once again knocked unconscious by a hard kick to my head.

* * *

I don't know how many times it's been repeated now since I've been taken into their custody. I wake up, try to get away and get knocked out again before I can escape with my ID. I think this is the 4th time I'm waking up tossed over one of their shoulders, the same position I've always woken up on. I don't think any of them have any kind of rope or ninja wire, which is very very stupid of them but also my saving grace as to why I'm not tied up while they're travelling. So for the 4th time, I'm lying on the ground with one of them restraining me, struggling to get away but their grip is steadfast on both of my arms. My head is lifted up from the ground by my hair and I stare at the crooked nosed guy's irritated face, an unwilling cocky grin spread on my face at his irritated expression. Serves him right for kidnapping me, experience eternal anger and frustration you fucking shit head; I'll never quit or I'd rather fucking die.

"I'm getting sick of this, just be a nice little girl and stay down."

"Fuck you..."

I croak out, my voice hoarse from how dry my mouth is and how much I've screamed these past hours I've woken up and tried to escape. I continue to grin at him, my whole body hurting from the many times they've tried to keep me down without permanently damaging me or making me look less 'pretty'. Apparently I'm going to be some 'bargain chip' and 'hore' once they get me to the village, which is the last thing I'd ever want. The power of the Masago belongs to Suna and Suna alone and I fucking refuse to be someone's sex toy.

"I d-don't give up, crooked nose jerk…"

"Alright, let's use this then."

I can't see what the guy with dull eyes is holding up or showing them because of my current position, but at least it makes crooked nose drop my head to look and letting my sore neck rest a bit. I know that Yohio is still listening in to what's happening to me, I can hear him talk to others from time to time which includes Taro; which means they must've gotten back to the village already. I've been with these jerks for almost a whole day if I'm to trust my judgment and my mini map watch, because Yohio wouldn't slack off on his speed if it meant saving me. I know I wouldn't have if it had been anyone I care for.

"You sure? Doesn't that also make them brain dead?"

"Well, I'm sure with the right dose it'd work without any permanent damage. Besides, she's a Masago, aren't they supposed to be super sturdy against everything?"

I tense up when I hear this, eyes widening slightly when I manage to figure out exactly what method they're talking about. Oh… Oh fuck that's not good, they want to _poison_ me. I may have a poison user as a teammate but I only recently got the poison resistance skill, I can't handle any other kind of poison than his yet, I'll be fucking useless dead meat!

"You're… you're going to _poison_ me? A Suna ninja who basically specializes in poison? Y-Yeah right, good luck with that."

I curse loudly in my head as I fail to remove the nervousness from my voice and all three of them seem to pick up on that. At least the guy who's holding me definitely felt me tense up when they were talking about it, I really need to get better at hiding shit and being a ninja I'm just really forward as a person damn it.

" **Mio? Mio don't edge them on, please. They're going to** _ **poison**_ **her, isn't there anything we can** _ **do**_ **?** "

I feel even more dread at the desperation in Yohio's voice while he's talking to others. Don't make this even worse for me Yohio, I can't feel panic due to my gamer's mind but I sure feel desperate over my current situation; I shouldn't have tried to bluff, fuck, I can't handle poison that fucking well.

"Ah, right right. Then I guess we don't have to worry about the dosage of it huh?"

I start to pull on my arms, squirming with all ounce of strength I have left in my beaten body and even using chakra to try and aid me in my endeavor. But the guy on my back only need to shift slightly to hold me still and it's frustrating me to no fucking end just how much stronger they are. I need to get away, I can't get that liquid in me or there will be no hope of me ever getting back home!

"F-Fuck off, I don't want to become brain dead because you used too much! Get that thing _away_ from me!"

"This will only sting for a second, girlie."

My whole body tenses up when a guy grab onto my hair to keep my head in place and a syringe is painfully inserted into my neck, sliding past my flesh easily with it's sharp tip. I cry out as the liquid is quickly inserted into my veins, too quickly where I can feel the liquid push against my blood, and my body starts trembling as I can already feel my limbs weaken from the poison's effects. Fuck, right to my throat is bad, it's really bad, it'll let the poison travel faster and I'm also distressed. I-... I have to…. My thoughts are already getting sluggish and I get increasingly frustrated with myself as my body just relax, nerves flaring up in pain as the foreign liquid is affecting them as well.

Everything is getting hazy… Am I talking? I don't know, it sounds wrong. Where am I? I can feel myself move but I'm not moving. Colours… voices… They all mix into a blur. Red… Red things pop up everywhere. What are those? They're so red...

" **-tay with me! Mi-** "

Who's that? Donno… There's brown everywhere too, brown and grey. I can't move, but I'm moving… I can feel the wind. I can hear and see. But I can't process it… What is this? What's happening?

 **Ding!**

 **Ding!**

 **Ding!**

 **Ding!**

What're those sounds? I don't get it, it's getting dark, orange dark. Can't close my eyes…

" **-right here, cousin… Hold on we're-** "

They, we, what's the difference? Cousin, I have a family? I don't remember… Where am I, who am I?

" **-can you answer me? Please…** "

Please what? Answer? But how do I do that? I don't understand…

What is living…?

What am I…?

* * *

" _Claraaaa let's go already."_

" _Oh shut up you twerp, I'm coming."_

" _But I want to leaaaave! Why are you always so slow?"_

" _It's not me who's slow, it's you who doesn't know how to be patient!"_

… _..._

" _Hey, Clara! Woah, you don't look to good."_

" _Oh you don't say? I just had to deal with two blonde bitches calling me a loser without being able to punch their faces in!"_

" _Chill out, no need to take it out on me! Want to go to the car graveyard?"_

" _... Sure, I'll get a new steel pipe. Where's Jack?"_

" _He had a date to get to so he ditched. I'm telling you, that guy is so fucking whipped."_

" _Not more whipped than Clara is to her little bro~."_

" _You shut the fuck up before I rearrange your ugly face! Or rather, don't, cause women would be able to stand you and you'll get laid in no time!"_

" _Oooh does that include you~?"_

" _Shove it up your ass where the sun don't shine."_

…

" _Clara, please. You don't have to resort to anger…"_

" _What else should I feel then huh!? They're all looking down on me and think they're all tough shit! Just because you're rich doesn't make you a better person for god's sake!"_

" _I know you feel that way, but screaming at them won't make them see you in a better light, they'll see the worse part of you. Think of it like this, if you ever met a person who's a mirror image of yourself, someone who always resort to their fists when in a disagreement, how would you react then?"_

" _I'd punch them in the fucking face cause they think they're better than I am."_

 _..._

" _Hey, where are we going?"_

" _We're going to the mall, twerp. Where else?"_

" _Well I don't know, I thought when you said 'catch up' we'd go somewhere more exciting."_

" _Hey, I'm treating you to food and buying you something! That's exciting!"_

" _I'm kidding Clara, I'm kidding! I love spending time with you."_

" _... Me too…"_

" _WATCH OUT!"_

 _*BANG!*_

… _.._

 _Dead light…_

…

 _ **This is what transpires when thou cheat the system, mortal.**_

* * *

An now, the real shit goes down when the Maker, the very god over their powers, interfere directly with the path Mio takes. This, my dear readers, is when shit goes _down_ and becomes darker. Though there will be happy moments, of course, but this is the start of when the Maker directly interferes with the story which will make some interesting things happen.

 **This chapter's question:** What do you think the Maker means when they say Mio has cheated the system? There are a few different reasons to why.

 **Review replies:**

 **EmikoTsubasa:** Hey it's ok, you didn't know. I'm glad you're setting off to create your own story, good luck! I'm glad that I can also be an inspiration, it's what I'm striving to be when sharing my stories. Hand cramps are terrible, yes, but if you dread it writing on the computer could be an option; it's always easier to go back and edit that way. If you find english to be hard to write in, write in your own language. Sure, there might not be as many people who see it then but it's up to you. Ooh War Medic Kurisu, that might be something. X3 And thank you for reading and reviewing on every chapter, I appreciate it a lot. ^^ I'm also glad that you're as happy with my review replies as I am, I really like answering reviews like this. I'll do my best to continue and meet your expectation as a good writer.

 **nessiesmith2012:** Oh you shouldn't take that comment to heart, I'm pale as well (pale as a fudging ghost) so I know not all pale people blush at everything. It was just Mio's way to try and excuse her embarrassment over talking about it with her teasing cousin, it's not that often that she blush either. The stuttering and blushing is no more! Almost, when she's in pain or dumbfounded she stutters. She hasn't had a reason to blush since back then so it'll be very minimal, promise.

 **prisontaker:** I have included The Gamer manga so yes, but the main focus is anime. And that sounds like a really cool ability, but if I choose berserker I'd feel the need to come up with 9 more abilities outside of that one to keep the balance between all SSP abilities. I haven't seen Berserker or read it either but I'll look it up.


	18. Escape

Hello! Another chapter ready and posted~.

I hope you think that all of this makes sense, because I do try my best to show how the poison is affecting her in this chapter. Also, to everyone who answered my 'poison affects' question many chapters back, I've added them here! Thank you very much for your feedback to help me make her struggle more and hopefully learn a good lesson.

Everything I put Mio through is to help her grow as a character, it's my main goal. Every bad thing will eventually lead to something good, and the perks she has with being a Masago is that she can't really get any kind of trauma from it all unless it get connected to her previous live's death! Hahaha, am I too evil if I take pleasure in her pain? ^^

Enjoy!

 **Warning!: Elaborate description of pain (kinda)**

* * *

Escape

I wake up with a sudden clarity in my mind, eyes wide and looking erratically around my surroundings to try and decipher where I am or what's happening. Dark, darkness, shadows; not safe, not safe here, need to move, need to get away I can't stay! Where's here, I don't know, I need to leave! I try to move my body, but all I can do is twitch my fingers lightly, which in turn makes my whole body flare up in enormous pain despite my hazy state of mind. I can hear snores around; it's night, they're sleeping, they don't notice, they don't see. Who? Who are they? Dangerous, they're dangerous. Need to get away, quiet get away, can't stay.

The second time I try to move, I manage to slowly lift up my hand despite the shocks of pain running through my limbs; moving on instinct that my body knows how I can escape even if I in my mind don't know how. What can I do with this? I don't know, but my body knows; instinct, follow instinct. Speak? I need to speak, speak out, use my voice but quiet. How? I don't know, automatic, instinct, move tongue; just do, just do..!

"I-…"

I manage to mutter out softly as I exhale a breath, my lips slightly numb as I struggle to form words. I can hear the soft rustling of clothes from behind me, making a sudden fear clench onto my chest. My body continues, taking a deeper breath and speak softly as I exhale; form words, the words your body knows that are safe.

"ID c-create…"

Energy flies out from my hand, enveloping me and changing my surroundings in a second. It's day time within this space, the brightness shining right into my eyes and blinding me momentarily as my eyes adjust to the sudden change in light. It's bright, it's bright; I'm safe now. I'm not in darkness, I'm not in shadows; I'm safe and away from those who sleep.

Who am I? I heard names in the flashes when it was dark. Jack? Clara? Am I Clara? It feels strange but right. I don't know. I relax against the thing I'm leaning on, staring blankly at the blue sky above me as my rapidly beating heart starts to calm down inside my chest. I'm safe here, I feel safe here; but where is here? There's nothing, can't feel anything, so how can nothing be safe? What is being safe and being in shadows? I don't know...

" **Mio…? Mio can you hear me?** "

I tilt my head towards the flying red paper that spoke to me, blinking slowly at the symbols on it that I can't clearly make out with my blurry vision. No, not paper; window. Mio… is that me? Is that my name? Everything hurts, it itches, I can't move, what is safe?

"My… name?"

I manage to whisper softly, lips barely moving in its numb state with my voice sounding raspy despite the slight effort I made. That voice sounds so worried, scared; But are they really scared? Something tells me the voice can't be scared, it's impossible. I can hear the voice from the window let out an exhausted and choked laugh, the images not changing as it's making that sound; the voice is familiar in a way that I don't know how. But why is it exhausted?

" **Yeah, y-you're Mio… Are you safe? Are you hur-? I- Can you think good?** "

"Safe…"

I mumble softly, not really understanding what that word means just yet but knowing that I am in some way safe. I glance over to the other windows beside the talking one, the text on them blurry and all stacked in the same place. There are many, I can't count how many even if I could see them clearly. What do they say? I don't know, can't read or understand it; but my body feels warm when I can see so many of that window, I recognize it but I don't know what it's doing.

"Mio safe… Tired. ID."

I mumble to the voice talking to me, eyes slowly closing as my beating heart continues to calm down and the rush I had previously dying down with it, rendering my body weak and useless to do anything. I'm really tired, everything makes me confused. Where am I? How am I here? Who is the voice? What is safe? I don't know...

" **A-Alright Mio, you can sleep. We'll talk more after you wake up, ok? … Yeah, she says she's in her ID. She doesn't sound very present but-** "

The voice I can hear slowly gets more faint as I relax despite the pulsing pain in my body; not able to keep my eyes open now when my rush has faded. With the voice talking in the window, I slowly fall asleep to the familiar sound of their voice. Safe...

* * *

Next time I wake up my head is a little clearer than it was the previous time, not that I remember anything from what happened. I'm woken up by Yohio's sudden shout in a conversation he's having with someone, but I'm not sure who. As I wake up, I start to listen in on what he's saying while I'm pulled back into consciousness.

" **No it's-! I-… I'm not a good teacher after all, Taro. I couldn't save her, I wasn't close enough to stop him from running away. I should just-...** "

Ah, Taro, he's talking to Taro. I twitch and groan softly when I can feel the pulsing pain through my whole body that pulses in time with my heart beat; it's also very stiff which doesn't really help my current situation. I must've been sitting here a long time, but how long? When I let out that soft groan it was during a pause on his end, which makes Yohio immediately turn his attention towards me and my beaten body.

" **W-Wait a minute, Mio?** "

"Mmn…"

I groan to him, shifting in my seated position and open my eyes slowly against the bright light as my mind is trying to make sense of what's happening. I can't feel any nature chakra and it's really bright out, I'm in my ID? I can't feel my hands, there are few body parts I can feel but I only feel them through pain rushing through my system. My body hurts and it's itching a lot, but I can't remember why I'm here or how I got into this state in the first place. Why do I have him on a call and not here next to me? Why do I feel so bad? I wet my numb lips in preparation to speak, slowly opening my mouth and talking in a very dry, hoarse voice to my cousin.

"Yohio… What-? How long?"

I don't know which question I should start with as my voice is barely above a whisper due to dehydration most likely; I have so many questions whirling around my head that I want to know the answer of all at once. What happened, where I am, where he is, if my teammates are ok, how long I've been gone, I want to ask all of them at once. When I try to speak up with another question I have on my mind, I end up coughing loudly when I try. Just how long have I been gone to have derailed into this poor state?

" **It's ok Mio, you don't have to speak. You've been gone for a little over two days. Iwa kidnapped you during their attempted ambush, Makoto said they were aiming for him but that you pushed him away to be taken instead. You got poisoned by them a day ago with something that was supposed to make you brain dead. It's alright, I've been here with you the whole time and I'm still trying to fix up a search team, but it's hard with the war going on. I-... I'm so sorry Mio, I should've been faster to intercept the enemy, but they traveled underground before I could get a hold of them.** "

He sounds exhausted; in more ways than one and that's saying something since he's managed to balance so much on his plate throughout the years. This isn't the Yohio I'm used to; he's always positive and cheers people on, determined to create order and judge everyone fairly. He keeps an eye on me so I don't step over the line with anything, but he's always been there to help and lead me on the right path he knows I want to walk while making sure that the very path I'm walking is safe. I… It must've been so hard for him and the other two boys I literally sacrificed myself for, I've been gone for two days. It's not as long as I feel it's been and at least I haven't gone that deep into Iwa if it's been two days.

"Yohio… Better m-me than him, I can- can handle it."

I cough once more, putting a hand to my throat as I continue to try and reassure him. I end up scratching a itchy part of my throat, shivering and forcing myself to stop when it just makes my skin _burn_ even more as if fire want to sprout out from the place I just itched. Now when he's told me a bit of what happened, I start to recall what transpired before they put that syringe into me; how they were after clan kid if they couldn't destroy the camp. Did they know we were going to be there...? Why do Iwa want clan kids when they have just as many clans as Suna do?

"I-I can handle it, I'll g-get back. D-Don't rush into enemy t-territory."

" **You expect me to just sit down and** _ **wait**_ **!? It's my fault you're in that position; I'm your teacher and leader, I should've-! I should've-.** "

"Should n-nothing, Yohio!"

I struggle to interrupt him, coughing when I raised my voice and I lean over slightly as I struggle to not vomit anything up with how much I'm coughing. Once it's subsided, I'm breathing heavily with every breath feeling like torture to my lungs; but I need to stay alive and for that I need to breathe. My vision is blurry as I look over towards the huge stack of notification windows that's hovering in front of me, all of them saying 'Poison resistance level up!' sue to my earlier predicament. I start to slowly lift my hand to click them away, my limb shaking and hard to control as I slowly move it towards the right corner of the window stack. I can't feel my finger shift position to extend my index finger, but I can see it...

"There's nothing could've done… I'm alive; safe and I-I'm coming back. You tried now it's my t-turn."

" **You're** _ **poisoned**_ **! You can't move in that state!** "

"Yes I c-can..."

I say with as much determination as I can manage in my weak state and determination is running through me to block out the pain I feel as I slowly roll onto my side to bring my feet under me, supporting my weight on the rock that I was leaning against to slowly stand. My whole being is _screaming_ at me to sit down, rest and never move again with how much pain I'm in and how weak I am. But it's the knowledge that Yohio is waiting for me, thinking that I won't be able to make it home on my own that I'm still standing on my shaking legs despite the sharp burning pain running through them. I'll make it home on my own two feet, I fucking refuse to put anyone else in danger by rushing into enemy territory to look after me when I could be anywhere. I speak through my teeth clenched in effort and pain, slowly raising my head to look at the window Yohio is speaking from.

"I'll walk-… Wait t-there."

" **I-... Mio!** "

"W-Wait there!"

I cough violently once more at my above whisper volume, leaning against the rock as support when my legs get weaker by my body's reaction and the pain inside me flares up like an inferno in my lungs. No, no I can't stop and rest when I haven't even started; I need to get back home. I fumble slightly to open my inventory while I'm doing my best to not retch through my violent coughing, hands shaking when I take out one of my many health potions. It's liquid, bitter as all hell but it might help me with my throat for the time being. After my coughing session is over, thankfully without vomiting, I quickly drink the whole bottle and ignore the bitter taste as I down the whole bottle in one go. Once it's empty I cough once more before I eagerly pull air into my burning lungs with my throat already feeling better and the itching lessened a little, not much of an improvement but I'm thankful for any small improvement I can get right now. Health potions are really amazing and I'm more thankful than ever right now that I have a rather heft supply of them in my inventory.

"I-I can handle it. Just take care of Natsu a-and Makoto, gotta be worried sick… I-I'll punch the shit out of all of you if you don't greet me with smiles. Especially you Yohio, I'm _fine_ and I'll get back; I-I can't drop dead yet. I still gotta be the strongest."

I grin slightly at the end to try an make my voice more cheerful but ultimately fail to do so through my pain. I start to look around me in search of some kind of stick, anything that could help me walk, but all I see is stone all around me and not a single tree or branch in sight. I don't even have my bo staff with me to help me walk, that sucks.

"My staff?"

I can hear Yohio chuckle softly when I ask about my staff and I can almost see the grin on his face through his voice, much more successful than I at that endeavor.

" **Yeah, we got it, stubborn girl. Fine, I'll wait, but you better be prepared for pampering once you get home, got it?** "

"G-Got it."

I nod and slowly, painfully push myself up to stand properly without leaning on the rock. I'm swaying slightly, body screaming in agony from the pain coursing through my body but I'm standing. I grit my teeth hard, breathing in shaky breaths through my nose to try and ignore the pain, numbness and itchiness all over me. As long as I walk slow, I can make my way forward… I can't feel my hands or feet but I can see them so that's good enough. I can see red spots on my skin where it's visible despite my blurry vision, itchy rashes?

"S-See you at home. I'll answer whenever you call, kay? Window is distracting."

He hesitates for a few seconds when I say that but he soon sigh loudly in defeat and I can see him rub the back of his head within my mind; I won the argument, not that it was much of an argument to begin with.

" **Alright, only since you promise. ... Stay safe, Mio.** "

"I will."

Once I've said that, Yohio ends the call on his end, leaving my vision almost window free if I can just delete a few more 'poison resistance level up' windows, I got way too many level ups for me to be comfortable about the poison dosage... I delete a few more windows as my feet and body adjust to standing, that dull pulse of pain not seeming so painful anymore when I'm standing still. Once my vision is clear, I take a deep breath and start walking forward, down along the slight slope since up leads to more mountains and Iwa. Pain is rushing through my body in waves for every step I take, vision fading in and out and legs trembling at the effort of moving. But I ignore all of this in favor of one single goal that I'm moving towards, I need to get to Suna… I need to get back home and make sure my team won't die without me there.

My vision is flickering in and out of focus and I'm exhausted after taking only a few steps, proving that my physical state is far from good. The poison is still affecting me badly and I have to stop every few minutes to lean against a rock to take a break, sweat pouring down my face like I'm having the worst workout in my life even if I'm only walking. The pain in my body never cease, pulsing through my veins like fiery liquid and edging on the many rashes on my body to heat up and itch at every flare of pain. Sure, the rashes aren't as bad after my potion, but the itching is still very distracting since I know it'll only get worse if I actually give in to it. I think I have a heavy fever from this thing with how exhausted and warm, yet cold, I am, but I just continue. I can't stop now; if I sit down I might never get back up again so I can only rest when it's absolutely necessary.

As I lean against a rock to rest once more, I look behind me to see if I've made any progress during my 30 minute progress. I've made some, but not as much progress as I'd like; if I'm judging it correctly I've gone the same distance I can usually do in 10 minutes when I'm in perfect health. I need to keep moving but maybe just a few seconds more, I'm not in _that_ much of a hurry that I can't spare a few seconds and see what's wrong with me. So while I catch my breath, I call up on my menu and enter my character screen to try and see exactly what my de buffs are from this poison. And what I see doesn't please me at all…

Status: SEVERELY SICK( Status include: Nausea, flickering gaze, weak body, fever), Chakra crippled, Jumbled thoughts, Numbness, Rashes, Nerve system overloaded.

That's a lot from one poison dose… Damn, those idiots really used too much of the stuff on me; know your poisons properly before using them, dumbasses. At least I'm not completely brain dead but I think that has something to do with me being a Masago more than anything; if it'd been anyone else with that dose they'd be stone dead. Since I have more than one status effect, it doesn't describe what they do. So I press on the different status effects to see what they really mean instead of just guessing on my own.

Numbness: Caused due to poison that affect the nerve system connected to the brain. Make you completely numb in your hands and feet. Recovery time: 1 day out of 23

Jumbled thought: Caused due to poison that affect the nerve system connected to the brain. Makes it harder to arrange thoughts to make sense of a situation you're in. Recovery time: 1 day out of 32

Chakra crippled: Caused due to poison that affect the nerve system connected to the brain. Makes it 80% harder to mold chakra in any way and 60% of the jutsu you try to use will fail. Recovery time: 1 day out of 35

Fever: Caused due to poison that affect the nerve system connected to the brain. Makes your body sweat a lot, be easily exhausted and coughs often. Recovery time: 1 day out of 13

Weak body: Caused due to poison that affect the nerve system connected to the brain. Makes your limbs tremble when they're put under strain and will give out suddenly if you're not careful. Recovery time: 1 day out of 13

Flickering gaze: Caused due to poison that affect the nerve system connected to the brain. Makes your gaze flicker in and out of focus and sometimes black out completely if you're not careful. Recovery time: 1 day out of 15

Nausea: Caused due to poison that affect the nerve system connected to the brain. Makes you feel ill from anything you eat and will puke up what you've eaten 60% of the time. Will cause you to feel sudden waves of dizziness if you're not careful. Recovery time: 1 day out of 8

Rashes: Caused due to poison that affect the nerve system connected to the brain. Makes you have lage rashes on your body that will be itching and makes your skin very sensitive to contact. Recovery time: 1 day out of 8

Nerve system overloaded: Caused due to poison that affect the nerve system connected to the brain. Makes all of your nerves in your body act out as if you're in constant pain with the overloaded poison inserted into the bloodstream. Recovery time: 1 day out of 2

This… All this piled up on top of each other, no wonder I feel like a complete train wreck. And so long recovery time… I don't think I'll be able to get home anytime soon with this much weighing me down; I have to thank Natsu for exposing me to nerve targeting poison once I do get home, I'll recover faster from that de buff thanks to it. As long as I stick to my empty ID while walking, I should be fine and not encounter any enemies. I'm in enemy territory so I can't let myself be seen in any way. But how will I be able to get food and water? I knew war wouldn't be kind to anyone, but I never thought I'd get the bad end of the stick for saving a teammate. Is this really the worst that can happen in a war? No… no, I doubt it; I was taken away to become someone's future fuck toy. It would've been a lot worse if I hadn't escaped like I did even if I don't remember it. I'm really lucky to have my ID create, it saved me and it'll help me get home safer. And all of those people who don't have that… What happens to them?

I grip onto my head, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down as my thoughts are detailing into unwanted territory.m, I shouldn't think about that; there's nothing I can do to help anyone with how I am now. Especially when I'm chakra crippled, that de buff fucking sucks balls. Heh… fucking sucks balls…

I groan softly as I lift my gaze to take my mind off the gutter and start walking forward again, I don't have the time to think about anything else than my survival. It's 1 in the afternoon right now; I should try and get some cover somewhere to figure out where the hell I should be going once it's night time in the real world. I'm a lot better at reading the stars than reading the sun's position so that would be preferable.

Putting one foot after another I slowly make my way forward with no clear direction in mind, following the pathway along the rocky hill and resting from time to time to not pass out from pain or nausea. I can't stop when I've just started, I need to get back as soon as I can and walking forward is the only way to do that. To reach my family… They're all worrying about me, needlessly might I add but I can't have them worrying about me. I wonder if I should unlock the copy ability; there aren't many kekkei genkai in Suna but it might be fun to just fool around with other's abilities. Maybe there's be a healer kekkei genkai and I'd like to try those eyes they got in Konoha; I don't remember their names, but that'd be cool.

It's getting closer to night time according to my digital watch and I start to look for a good place to hide. There are many places to hide in among rocks but I want to find somewhere I'm sure no other ninja are occupying, since I don't know where ninja are stationed inside my ID. A little past 1 am I find an opening between two rocks where only a child would be able to fit in, or someone very small but the point is that no ninja would think of camping in this space with the alcove here. I slowly crawl inside, struggling with the rashes' sensitivity and the pain pulsing through my body with each move I make. Not only that, but I struggle to keep myself awake when I lie down on my stomach inside the small gap, muscles relaxing as I let myself have a little breather. Just a few minutes, then I'll go out and watch the stars to know where I'm going...

I have no access to my map or mini map in this country, it displays the message 'you haven't seen this map' when I tried to access it through my menu during one of my many pauses. So until I find a map from Iwa I won't be able to see their landscapes, makes sense but it frustrates me in my current situation… I need food and water, but that can wait until I know where I'm going.

After a short rest and keeping myself awake, I mumble a soft 'ID escape' only to have it fail. I narrow my eyes slightly, taking a deep breath to calm down the anger that want to flare up in my chest; right I'm chakra crippled and not all jutsu will work immediately… After repeating 'ID escape' three more times, the world around me shatter and return to the reality with the sounds of the night and cool breeze caressing my pain burning body. I stay under my cover, trying and failing to conceal my chakra presence, and do a quick sweep with my chakra sense to search for any signatures that may be closeby. I can feel an encampment a bit further uphill with a few signatures in it, but as long as I have the stones between me and the camp I should do fine visual wise. Since I can't sense anyone else I slowly and carefully crawl out from my hidey hole, making sure that the camp and I have the two stones between us to block me from their view. If they have a skilled chakra sensor they'd have noticed me the moment I appeared so I doubt they have anyone like that. Once I'm outside, I look up to the sky to try and decipher where I am and where I should go.

The sky of this world never fails to take my breath away; it's just as beautiful during day time as it is during night time. The stars are shining bright through the dark night sky, seemingly endless with how little pollution this world has been through. With how many stars there are you'd have to know how to tell them apart to use the stars as guidance, which I can do. But with the sea of stars stretching endless above my head… It's beautiful. I quickly disregard my thoughts on this world's beauty and focus on the task at hand, I don't have all the time in the world to do this with enemies within sensing distance behind me.

Urusa, Ita, Gome, There's Hizo, the star sign which brightest star is pointing to the east. So I've been walking east, huh… That'd take me to either Kusa or Ame from Iwa but Kusa is where Konoha and Iwa are fighting. I should try to avoid that to the best of my ability; but I wouldn't want to walk through Ame either, it's still kind of ruined from the last war and on it's way towards recuperation even if it's a slow process. I need to stay somewhere where I can get food, I can't hunt or set up traps in my current state for food. Kusa might be my best bet on that front honestly, if I hide my kunai pouch, hitai ate and change my shirt I could pose as a small girl… It'd take me further away from home, but I'm already as far away from home as I ever believed I'd be this early on in the war. A detour to make sure that I'm well and get proper rest to recover from this poison is something the others would understand. So I face the direction I'm supposed to go and I enter my ID again to continue my travel, or at least try to… It takes me a few tries and depletes more of my chakra than it should have, but I enter my ID eventually before anyone can notice that I was there. I'm forced to close my eyes at the bright daylight suddenly shining into my eyes and blink as my eyes slowly adjust to the new light, I forgot it's always day time in here...

Giving myself a little longer break as praise for finding the direction I need to go, I decide to call Taro since I should really update him on my situation and not my cousin. If Yohio hasn't called me during my day long walk, he might be busy with other stuff. My uncle pick up the call immediately, like always, and I can hear the surprise in his voice when he greets me.

" **Mio? Is something the matter?** "

"No, nothing wrong. I'm making slow progress… Will be moving towards Kusa first, then Ame, then home. Wanna get away from Iwa. How's Yohio? T-Team?"

I clear my throat slightly when I finish, my throat still very dry and hoarse to remind me I need water and not just potions when I feel like it's needed. As I talk to Taro, I slowly start to walk forward towards Kusa with each step still shooting up shocks of pain through my body, but I walk through it and refuse to stop and give up.

" **Ah… He's blaming himself for what happened, your teammates too. They've been training to keep their mind off your predicament and I've disabled Yohio's calling mechanic or he would've called you every minute to make sure you're alive.** "

I smile slightly as I continue to walk, a small spark of fondness for those idiotic boys that they're worried about me. It's strangely… nice to know that I'm being missed. I can make it to Kusa though, I know I can, and I need food and water soon, I'm moving through determination only…

"Sounds like them, stupid… I'm not weak, I can handle it."

" **I know you can. How are you feeling though? It can't be easy...** "

"I'm feeling like shit…"

I confess with my voice barely above a whisper, both to spare my voice and a little ashamed to admit it out loud even if saying something other than that would be lying. Saying that I feel like I'm dying from the inside out constantly would be more accurate than 'like shit' but I can't confess that to Taro and worry him like that. I take a deep breath and lean against another tall rock to rest before my legs buckle under me and send me rolling down the slope.

"I gotta rest all the time, got no food, no water. Only got potions but it's not enough... Dizzy and chakra wrecked, rashes and pain, it _sucks_. Apparently the poison affected my brain connected nerves, It'll take me over a month to recover from all de buffs."

" **That- That sounds horrible, Cherry. Are you sure you can make it to Kusa though? The conflict between Konoha and Iwa is there and I don't want you to be in danger…** "

"As long as I stay within my-my ID, I'll be ok… Only gotta enter real world for position check and f-food and water. I'll be ok."

I cough a bit once more when I finish speaking, hunching over and clutching onto my burning chest with my free hand. I fist my hand into my shirt, struggling to breathe through the coughing but thankfully this wasn't a hard cough attack and it soon subsides to let me breathe properly. When Taro speaks once more he sounds very worried about my well being, understandable due to my earlier coughing fit, and I can imagine that he's pinching the bridge of his nose in thought from the other end of the call.

" **Alright, if you say so, Mio… I'll see what I can do from my end, we might be able to- Ah, Yohio, Kuza, Daia, what is it? … Mio? Well, I'm talking to her right now, she's giving me an update. … Yes, she's reassured me of that, she's on her way towards Kusa right now before she can return. … Yes, she knows but she wants to get out of Iwa as soon as possible, Kusa is most likely the closest to her current location.** "

"Should I leave the call?"

I ask softly as I stand up straight to continue walking, fingers still grasping onto my burning chest to somehow ease the pain through my skin. I have to keep on moving; I can't stop and be distracted by Taro talking to my team. Can't stop, won't stop; I feel like singing, fuck.

" **Ah, no it's fine Mio, sorry. But you should try and find a water source before you reach Kusa. Only drinking potions for substance can't be good in the long run so you should hold off drinking another until it's absolutely necessary.** "

I stumble slightly on a rock, holding back a pained noise when my leg connect harshly with the ground to catch my momentum. Tremors is running through my legs as I slowly stand up straight once more, nodding at Taro's words and replying through my teeth as they're being grinded together in pain.

"G-Got it-... They're- all there?"

I can hear Tako huff softly in amusement on the other end, making me smile slightly at the familiar sound through the pain as the earlier tremors are slowly subsiding. Once I feel confident enough that I won't crumple to the ground at the first step, I slowly continue to make my way forward down the light slope.

" **Yes, they're all here. Is there something you'd like to say to them?** "

"Yeah…That they shouldn't f-fucking underestimate me; I'll be fine. And once I get home I'll-"

I pause slightly as I try to rearrange my thoughts on what I'll do once I get home and meet them, I can't say I'm happy that they miss me cause I still got a bit of appearance to keep up. A bath would be really nice right now. A hot steamy bath… And then a good meal, it'd sit really well, yup yup. I'd love to have some dango too… Fuck I'm getting off track, Taro is patiently waiting for me to continue.

"Once I get home… I'll be expecting welcome home dango from all of them. And I'll punch Makoto in the face cause he made me save him."

I can hear Taro laugh when I add what I'll do to Makoto, the sound of his laughter making a slight buzz build up in my chest. I really miss my family, but I need to be strong and just continue.

" **I'll be sure to relay that message, stay safe Mio. We all believe in you and are waiting for you at home. Call me if something comes up or you just want someone to talk to.** "

"I will… Also, tell Yohio that he's a great teacher. Tell Natsu that he- t-thank him for exposing me to nerve poison, it helped lots."

" **No special message for the third one?** "

"Oh yeah… Tell Makoto he's an idiot and owe me so many meals for saving his s-sorry ass.

I smile slightly at his laugh and confirmation that he'd relay all my messages to the team standing before him. Once we've said our goodbyes, I cancel the call to focus on walking and staying upright. I'm sure that all of this would've been much harder on Yohio and my team if I wasn't able to reach them in any way, If i wasn't able to call someone within my family and they were stuck with the knowledge that I was possibly in Iwagakure held hostage or killed. I'm alone in enemy territory with this chakra cripple thing so I can't be sure that I'll be able to escape immediately if I'm found either, I need to be careful and plan out what I'm doing every step on the way. But it's very hard to think of good solutions and plans with how jumbled my thoughts can get from time to time as well as my obvious weakness without chakra usage. Not to mention how painful everything feels with anything I do, at least this constant pain will subside as the next day ends thanks to my resistance.

A wave of dizziness come over me and I'm forced to pause once more, groaning in frustration as I lean against another rock to steady myself. I hate this… I just want to lie down and sleep forever but that won't help me get home or make me feel less shitty. I hate how weak I am… I just want to get back home; be back in Suna with the sand surrounding me with all its shitty sandstorms and bad rain days, where the temperatures are freakishly hot as they are biting cold. I'm getting sick of all this rock no matter where I look, I'd prefer glittering sand dunes over boring grey surface any day. I just want to go back home and away from this damn place, away from this country that I want nothing to do with.

I continue to walk in the same direction, or what I hope is the direction, towards the outskirts of Kusa so I might avoid most of the war that's happening. I can't tell for sure exactly which part of Kusa I'm walking towards but at least I'm walking in that direction. I should reach Kusa soon, hopefully before I starve to death or collapse from exhaustion. All the rocks look the same to me and there are countless of them, if I didn't have my constant daylight that help me with looking around I'd easily get lost in this mess. The only thing that's directing me is the direction I'm facing, my mini map turn with me to where I'm facing so it's not helping my current predicament. I can't risk getting out into the real world too often or I might just get trapped by the enemy ninja that's most likely littering across the land.

It takes me a while until I see any sign of greenery, I can't sense it anywhere since the world is void of nature chakra, and when I see small tufts of grass and trees I'm taken off guard, I almost collapse in relief but I quickly remind myself that I'm still far from Kusa. But the first tree, my very first tree since I got dragged from my beautiful sand landscapes is just- I'm getting closer to my goal which is getting away from the mountains. I've seen trees before, they surround our oasis and are on the outskirts of the desert, but this tree is different with its vivid and bright colors. I stumble over towards it and gently touch the bark, a tired smile spreading over my face at the sign of life. I'm getting closer to the border, soon I'll be completely rid of all this rock. I lift my head to look further ahead and if it's not an illusion playing tricks on me, I can faintly see a river a little further ahead behind the trees and rocks littered in front of me. After giving myself a brief pause by the tree to gather some energy, I start to walk towards the river with my jaw clenched in effort to not run towards the source of water since I don't want to feel even more pain. It's in the direction I need to walk in so it works perfectly, if I'm lucky there might be a berry bush I can eat from, I've read up on forest survival in school and I also have prior knowledge from entering the scouts in my last life. If only I had more energy so I could set up traps...

Once I'm at the stream, I slowly get down on my knees to feel at the water with my elbow since my hands are still numb, but I don't feel anything… It's like air, flowing past my elbow as I'm sitting in this awkward position; it's like it doesn't have a substance without nature chakra embedded in it. I look slowly straighten myself to look around, trying to see if there's anywhere I can hide where I don't have to move too much to get to. There are some rocks about two meters away, not a large cluster but it should be enough for now; I don't have enough energy to stand up and hide among the cluster of larger rock further behind me. My limbs are trembling in protest as I start to crawl on my hands and knees towards the cluster of rocks, pain pulsing through my body as even crawling is an effort in my current state. I still can't feel anything in my hands, which is a small saving grace with how the river is lined with small rocks and no grass to speak of. My knees still feel the pain of rocks digging into my bare skin while I slowly make my way towards the rocks, adjusting myself so that I'm leaning against the rocks with my back and facing the river. I can never be too careful but right now I'm more focused on getting water than being unnoticed by ninja.

"ID escape… ID escape…"

It takes me two tries to shatter my dungeon this time and I'm tense as I feel the world around me come to life with all of its different noises. It's cloudy today, making soft light filter through to shine on the ground around me. There's only nature chakra, nature chakra and animals; I can't sense any form of human chakra within my range. I relax slightly, trusting my chakra sense as I once again crawl to make my way back towards the water stream on the exact same place so I know which direction I'll be going in later. Even if my hands are numb I cup them into a bowl and lower them into the clear liquid. I can't keep the rashes on my hands away from the water and they get even more itchy and burning that they were before, but as long as my hands are numb I won't feel as much need to scratch them as the rest of my body. I start to eagerly drink from the water, doing my best to not let the cold, refreshing liquid drip down my chin and neck where more of my rashes are most likely present. The water in the river is clear without any kind of pollution or dirt and it's really cold unlike the water we have in Suna. It's really refreshing for my throat and my soul, but my body is still as wrecked as it was before.

I let out a soft gasp when my vision suddenly blacken out completely, leaving me blind and I accidentally drop a bit of water into my lap with my sudden lack of sight. Another wave of dizziness hit me right then as I'm enveloped in darkness and I try and support my weight even if I can't really feel where my hands are. I'm left with only my chakra sense as a guide to what's happening when a loud ringing sound envelop my ears; and even if I trust it, suddenly losing your sense of sight is unnerving in so many ways. I would say terrifying but I can't feel any fear from it, just strong unease from not being able to see. I'm left gasping for breath as my vision slowly return, my ears still ringing loudly and blocking out any sound from reaching me. I hate feeling so- so _weak_. I don't have anything on me that can carry water and all my potion bottles disappear the moment I use them, I should be more prepared to have things in my inventory on our next mission in case I lose my backpack again. But since I've gotten some water to drink, that's enough for now; I need to continue forward towards Kusa.

I take one last mouthful of water before I sit back on my aching legs, letting the water drip off from my chin on its own and I'm still panting from my earlier blackout. I hope that doesn't happen again anytime soon, I thought I was being careful just so I wouldn't have to experience it. I get the feeling that this coming week is going to be hell and a half to get through, those stupid Iwa ninja who don't know how to handle their poison… Idiots.

It takes me three tries to activate ID create this time and enter my empty world again, once I can feel no chakra around me I slowly stand up from where I was sitting by the river. This world is something I connect to feeling safe now, with how long I've wandered through here it's hard to not see my empty ID as a safety blanket. I wonder when I'll get that time alteration ID; I haven't looked on my ID skill for a while, maybe I've already unlocked it without knowing about it. Would I still get items from a monster ID even if I'm not in it when people kill monsters? That's something I'd rather not want to find out unless I do it to an enemy...

I walk through the river, the cool water presence flowing past my legs and sending shivers up my spine at the weird sensation. I struggle a little with climbing out from the river, but I manage to get over to the other side eventually so I can continue on my way towards Kusa. I hope I can get there soon, I'm starting to get really hungry. I haven't eaten since our evening meal in the camp… That's at least three days ago. Well, I can handle a few days longer, a Masago's endurance for food and water is greater than a normal person's endurance most of the time. I'm soon there…

I'm soon there…

* * *

Sorry for the many walls of text this chapter, I wasn't sure where to break it all up so it ended up looking like this. But yeah, she survived! I wouldn't let my character get kidnapped and not able to escape with the kind of ability she has. Truthfully, the thought of Mio arriving in Iwa territory did hit me but I also realized it wouldn't bring anything special to the plot and her walking towards Kusa in this state would give more to the narrative as a whole.

So she's feeling like absolute shit, like she should when she's been poisoned, and you'll see how she'll get out of this mess soon. Next chapter.

 **This chapter's question:** If you had the chance to change anything in the Naruto timeline, what would you do?

 **Review replies:**

 **EmikoTsubasa:** Dying too much has nothing to do with cheating, no. Every Masago has died many times, Mio is just young and cautious enough that she hasn't died as often. Thank you for liking my story. ^^ I'm aiming for Heat of a heart to be a mix between 'dark' and 'happy' to create a sense of realism. I hope you'll enjoy the realism I'm aiming to make and that you continue to stick around, it'll get better eventually!

 **Cupcake:** Why thank you for that wonderful reaction~. X3 With the ninjas not having wires, it's a plot hole I consciously made so that she wouldn't actually end up deep in enemy camp or the capital... Sorry? I know it doesn't make sense but I don't want Mio to be held as hostage like that.

The ID is a part of it, yes! ^^ And the Maker is the being who created the Masago, the one who gave Masago their powers and give them quests suitable to their situation. The Maker can also affect the world around the Masago, pulling the strings of other characters to amuse the Maker more with the Masago's actions in those situations.

And thank you! I'm glad you liked it. ^^


	19. War never changes

Hello I'm back!

So Mio escaped, that's great great, right? Well there's still war going around so there's bound to be some problems. I hope that you're all enjoying the serious turn my story has taken, I have after all always aimed to make it realistic. So there'll be ups and downs throughout the course of the story, but I'll still need your help with deciding some factors so I'm very happy that some are answering my questions. Thank you! ^^

Hope you'll enjoy it!

* * *

 **War never changes**

 _This text shows its memories from Mio's past life_

I've been walking for at least a few days now, I can't keep track of exactly how many days when I'm walking in my empty ID with constant sunshine. I haven't let myself sleep during this whole time, but I've let myself rest to just sit still and not worry about moving for a few minutes. During one of my rests, I finally got enough energy to make myself look like a civilian by removing bandages, kunai holster, hitai ate and putting them in my inventory as well as turning my shirt inside out to hide my clan symbol. I can't walk around looking like a ninja when I'm supposed to be posing as a child after all. I regret removing my headband moments later, because now all sweat that gather up on my forehead run down into my eyes and is annoying the shit out of me. I really need to clean my headband cloth when I get home, I bet it'll stink like it's never done before.

I have entered the real world when I found a river so I could fish by a river and drink water, I'm getting closer and closer to Kusa territory so it's getting steadily more green as I continue forward. So now I'm even more weary of where I decide to pop up in the real world since ninja might be more frequent as I'm getting closer to the front line of the fight. That's also the first time I have ever eaten a fish raw since I didn't have time to make a fire and I can't create a fire inside my ID naturally, it was slimy and wet but filling. I almost puked it all out because of my nausea or because I was just so disgusted by the sound of crunching scales, I'm not sure which was the reason but I managed to keep the food down, miraculously enough.

I'm breathing heavily, limbs shaking as I'm leaning against a tree for another short rest with the severely sick de buff still in effect to tire out my body. These are happening less frequently as I'm getting slightly better each day even if I don't sleep, and at least the burning pain through my nerves system has disappeared now so I'm not in constant pain as I walk. I open my character menu to see how many days I got left on my very sick de buff and frown slightly as I focus on the text in front of me. I'll get rid of nausea in 5 days and the rest in 10 days… Fucking terrific, I need to wait 10 days until I'm a functional human being and then another 20 or so until I can use my chakra properly and go back to being a shinobi. I hate this, I hate the state i'm in. Stupid Iwa, I hate them, not enough to completely eradicate them but enough to hurt a few very very badly for what they've done to me. Once I get strong enough, I'll absolutely do that...

I stand up with a soft groan and pause when my vision start to grow a little hazy when I stand up, but once it's settled I start to walk towards Kusa once more. I'll get there soon, I'm sure of it, with how much I've been forced to endure I have to reach Kusa soon. When I see wide fields of grass, I know I've reached my destination but I haven't found anything like that yet. I shouldn't drop my ID immediately when I reach a field of grass though, maybe once I can see a village I can hide and exit my ID. Yeah… Yeah I don't want to risk getting in the middle of a battle by being careless that way.

I walk and walk, putting one foot after the other as I repeat the mantra 'forward' to keep me going despite how exhausted I am. I'm tired to the very core but it's my stubborn determination that keeps me on my feet; I need to get back, I've made a promise and I'm not about to break it just cause my body has given up. I'll see it through to the end, I _will_ get back home. One foot after the other, it feels like walking is taking me an eternity in my current state; I keep my gaze focused on the ground so I won't trip on anything, watching the patches of earth and lines of root to avoid them before they catch me off guard. If I fall it'll be hard to get back up again so I'd rather not fall in the first place.

I blink when I can't see the shadows of the trees anymore that I've gotten so used to and I look up in front of me to find out if I'm in another clearing. My eyes widen when I can see a large field up ahead, the large field of grass stretching far beyond what I thought it'd be and I can barely see the next patch of forest far off in the horizon. Is that…? I continue to walk forward, slowly as to not push my weak limbs further than they're able to go and take in the beautiful view in front of me with a slight grass looks soft and welcoming after the many days I've spent in a rocky forest, I'm here. I'm in Kusa and I made it…

As I am walking forward, still walking at a slow pace, I bring up my menu to call Taro and tell him the good news. I'll rest a bit in this country in some kind of village, then I'll go back to Suna through Ame within my ID. I'm soon home, I'll soon be able to feel the warm desert breeze on my face and see the glittering, beautiful sand that stretches on for miles.

" **Mio?** "

"Taro, I'm in kusa… I made it."

I say softly, voice still hoarse since I haven't acquired any liquid for maybe two days. The grass is bending softly underneath my feet, so green and lively despite being devoid of real life in my ID world. I bet it'll look even more beautiful if it was bending in the breeze, I haven't ever seen this kind of grass field during the two lives that I've lived. Taro's voice immediately turns proud and cheerful at my update and his joyful voice brings a happy buzz to my chest.

" **Well done, Mio! Thank you for keeping me updated, we're all so proud of you. I've told the council of your disappearance, I had to when they noticed your absence. Overall it's only the council, Kazekage-sama, your team and our family who knows what happened to you and they'd all like to hear from you when you return.** "

"It's ok, I don't mind. Thanks Taro… I'll do my best and be in Suna soon. My sickness will pass after 10 more days so don't expect me back before then, it's slowing me down."

I sigh softly when I think of my sickness, staring down at my trembling legs as I continue walking; It's a real nuisance now more than anything else. I know I can move, but my body is trying to trick me into that I can't with how weak it is from the poison and its side effects.

" **Of course, Cherry. I'm really proud of you for fighting on despite it all, just stay safe away from the confrontation alright?** "

"I'll do my best."

I say with a slight nod and end the call after saying my goodbye to my uncle. The calls with Taro are short to save my throat and to keep me from coughing up my lungs, but I need to call him to reassure my family that I'm ok and give a brief update on how I'm doing. I'll get through this, if I can't get through this obstacle then I won't be able to call myself the strongest in the future. Heh, getting kidnapped and escaping from enemy territory while severely sick from a poison, now that's something that'll give me a lot of credit in Suna if they decide to make it public and especially since I'm so young. I escaped from becoming a breeding toy for a ninja village, few can count themselves that lucky… Thank the Maker I have these abilities, they've saved me from certain death.

I raise my head to look forward and start to smile when I see a village further ahead, still quite a ways away but I can see small houses in front of me. I don't know if I should envy that village for having such a wonderful view over the field or if I should be worried that they're so out in the open for ninja attacks, It's a completely open field. If I exit my ID here then it'd be easy to spot me, but I can't just appear in the middle of the village… I need some kind of cover before I make myself known to the town, where I can exit my ID and walk forward like a child being a victim to the war. I look around, gaze wavering slightly as I struggle to spot somewhere I can hide, it's all just an open field as far as I can see.

The best I find is a small formation of rocks, three small boulders that'd barely cover a child from harm's way if they crawl in between those rocks. There are other small rock formations more towards the tree line but they feel so far away at the moment with how tired I am; I just want to exit my ID, get some help and rest, I'm sure this place will be fine for my appearance. I'm sick from poison in my system but I'll say it's from getting wet earlier or from just wandering aimlessly for days. I remember how it rained about two days ago when I caught fish for myself and with the amount of dirt stuck on my clothes it'd be believable, I'm sure. I can't suppress my chakra due to this fucking chakra crippled de buff so I'll hope that even with my high chakra levels I can pass off as a civilian, or if chakra crippled will actually help me in concealing my chakra that'd also be good.

I slowly crawl into the space between the three rocks I found, a little cramped but doable as I'm breathing heavy and sweating heaps from the effort of just climbing inside. I'm getting tired of being constantly sick, damn this poison. I miss food… I grit my teeth in effort to squeeze down further into the small gap and curl up to be as small as possible, making sure that the stones are covering me on all sides when I do this so I can't be seen. I can never be too careful when it comes to this kind of thing, appearing out of nowhere isn't something a normal ninja should be able to do.

"ID escape.. ID escape… ID escape…"

It works the third time I try it and the world around me shatters to bring me into the real world, making me tense up and close my eyes to focus and be weary. I let my chakra sense stretch out around me to see if there's ninja around, sweat dripping down my brow from my fever.

A sudden 'boom!' break my concentration before I can get a sense of my surroundings and I flinch at the loud sound while keeping my eyes closed. I can hear the clang of metal meeting metal repeatedly around me, angry cries muddled into a roar of anger from many, many people and I feel an icy pit of dread gather in my stomach. When I manage to focus once more with my chakra sense, I can feel so many chakra signatures all around me, so many… They're all fighting each other, cries of pain mixing in with the cries of anger when I feel people on both sides die slowly with their chakra dimming until it disappears completely from my mind's eyes.

My body start to tremble when I realize where exactly I am and I cover my mouth to keep myself quiet, I can't let out a single sound when I can feel and hear the battle all around my little hidey hole. There are so many ninja around me, I've never felt so many fighting in one compact space before… I- I can't move, I can't speak, I can't do anything in fear that someone will find me and kill me on the spot. It's dark, darker than it should be behind my eyelids since it's in the middle of the day. I can't breathe too loudly, they're going to kill me; chakra is flickering out one after another, dying, suffering, calling for help only to be drowned out by the sound of angry voices and clanging of metal. I can't do anything…

The eyes, I start to see the eyes again as my brain unwillingly start to focus through my senses on what's transpiring around me. Blank, lifeless, I can picture those accusing, dead eyes on every person I feel die around me as if they're accusing _me_ for their death even if I'm not guilty of it. I'm trapped, I can't get away and the ground continues to be shaken with tremors from different jutsus being thrown at either side. Both sides are my enemy, I have no allies and I'm going to die just because I didn't want to move further towards the trees.

I'm in the middle of the _war zone_ between Konoha and Iwa.

Wasn't I aiming for the southern part of Kusa just to avoid this? Did I walk wrong somewhere? I was so sure I was going in the right direction the whole time!

Against my better judgment, I slowly open my eyes so I have something else to focus on than my chakra sense. The fact that it's so dark makes me think that it's night even if it's a little bit after noon…

 _Dead light…_

My breath hitch in my throat and unwilling tears are gathering in my eyes as I stare straight into a dead man's face, pressing my hands firmer against my mouth to not make a sound. His dead eyes are staring blankly down at me, the three rocks surrounding me are holding up his body so his face is hovering right above where I'm hiding. I'm frozen as the memories of my death flash before my eyes, trading this nameless ninja's face with my past brother's as the scene plays through my head.

No…

 _Dead light..._

My body is trembling in effort to not make a sound, petrified as tears are running down my cheeks.

Get me away from here…

I can't speak, I can't move, I can't get away or I'll die. I can't do anything but stare at this dead man's face in pure horror with the terror inside me freezing me in place.

I wanna go home…!

Death death death death. War, screams, crashes, clangs, it's all blending together into a huge blur. But at its center point are dead faces, this dead face, it's what everything around me is leading towards.

I'm gonna die!

The tremors from a jutsu shake the ground and rocks I'm hiding in, shaking the body that's hovering above me as well and it's starting to slide down. Closer to me, ever so slowly with it's dead eyes accusing me of something I haven't done.

No… no, get away!

I let out a choked cry behind my hands as the body is ever getting closer to me, my heart beating erratically in my chest as I'm trying to press my body further into the ground with my legs; a futile struggle to try and get away as I'm already pressed as deep into the little space as I can. It's just getting closer…

I don't want this, get away from me! Mom! Dad! Anyone!

I can't move, I can't do anything as I'm screaming inside my mind for some kind of help, for anyone to drag this limp body away from me in any way possible. I'm frozen as I'm staring death right in its face, feeling death happen all around me with my whole body trembling and useless.

I need to scream! It'll go away if I scream!

I force my mouth open behind my hand, but I still can't make a sound past a pathetic wheezing sound at the back of my throat. My throat is clogged up, scared to my very core that I'll be found and killed by the ninjas even if that'd be better than staring at this terrifying sight.

It's getting closer... I don't want to I don't want to Idon'twanttodie!

Then there's a sudden bright light as the dead face is removed from my vision and I'm left staring up at the morning sky. I barely register this, too caught up in my memories as I repeat my death over and over again, repeating the death of my little brother and the chuunin I failed to save. My hands are still covering my mouth, body cowering and trembling in my little hidey hole while trying my best to stay quiet. Why did those eyes disappear?

A pair of hands suddenly lift me up by my armpits as I'm still staring up into the blue sky, making me tense up even more if possible at the sudden body contact and let out a startled scream. I've been found, they're going to kill me, I don't want to die! I start to struggle in hopes of tearing away from their grip, tears clouding my vision as I can only see a blur of colour while I'm being held against someone's chest with their arms around my back. I can't see anything other than patches of green, grey and an occasional orange from a jutsu, my heart beating fast and loudly in my chest. My hearing is muted as I have to listen to the sounds of my previous death over and over, the loud gunshot ringing through my ears and mixing itself together with the sound of war around me. I can feel the person tighten their hold on me when I struggle and I can feel a rush of air as they start moving. I've been found and now I'll be killed! They'll torture me and kill me!

"N-NO! Let go! Let go! M-Mom! Dad!"

I cry out desperately for help even if I know help won't arrive, cursing my weak and sick state as I'm being carried off against my will. I don't want to be here! I want to get back home! I have no information to give them! I continue to struggle against the grip by weakly pushing my hands against their chest, flashes of green passing by as the ninja is carrying me further away from the battle. I can hear a voice speaking to me, but I can't hear what they're saying over the gunshot memory that's still playing in my mind; I can't get away…!

"N-No I gotta-! I gotta go home! I just wanna go home! Don't ki-!"

I'm interrupted by a sudden cough attack as I've strained my voice by talking so loudly, closing my eyes and covering my mouth with one of my hands as I'm cowering in this stranger's grip. My hands are numb as always, I can't feel anything except the wind rushing over my back as the ninja is moving at a high speed. Where am I being taken? I don't want to become a war prisoner! I promised I'd go home, I can't stop here I can't!

I barely notice when the fast pace travel comes to a halt, still coughing into my hand and hitting my offender with everything I got with my other; which isn't much strength with how weak my body is from the poison still running through my veins. Despite my coughing I continue to try and plead for them to not kill me, to let me go home even when I'm being transferred into another person's arms. Despite my struggles they manage to get a hold of me and I continue to beg for mercy as I'm coughing up my lungs, I just want to go _home_.

I can feel medical chakra enter through my head and suddenly the world is no more as I grow limp in the strangers grip.

This is how I die, huh…?

* * *

I wake up again with my mind hazy and disorientated, letting my body stay limp and breathe evenly to pretend that I'm still asleep to not rouse any suspicion. I do my best to take in my surroundings when I'm doing this as I have an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that I'm in danger. But what happened?

I feel around me with my chakra sense, noting that there are many, many chakra signatures around me all of various sizes. All of them ninja, some are weaker than others while some are moving from place to place to possibly help these weaker signatures. When I focus on one of the weaker ones, I notice that they're wounded by something and thus can't move. Am I at a medical camp…?

That's when my earlier fuzzy memories come back to me and I can't help but tense up tenfold as my eyes fly open in panic. Sounds of war, people dying, dead light eyes in front of me, someone carrying me away. I'm going to die, they're going to kill me just like they killed those other people! I can't suppress my chakra they must've realized I'm a ninja already, I have to leave before they get the chance to kill me. There's no one in this space, this large tent, who is conscious, I have to use this opportunity to escape, I might never get this chance again!

I quickly sit up on the hard ground I was lying on, ignoring how my vision blacks out at the effort and struggle to stay upright while my vision settles. I have to leave, I don't have time to think of what's best for my body! Completely ignoring how my limbs are protesting, I shift onto my side to get my legs underneath me and steady my body weight on my hands and knees. My body is still weak with limbs trembling violently as I force myself to stand, panting in exhaustion from the huge effort of doing so. I have to get away as soon as I can, no matter which side it was that took me here they'll kill me for sure. I can't hide my chakra, I don't have any type of good acting skills to pose as a believable civilian; I can't have them interrogate me or ask me questions. They'll definitely interrogate a child that suddenly appeared on the battlefield, they're not stupid. I need to leave now!

I slowly stumble towards the entrance to the tent, panting heavily as I put one foot in front of the other to move forward. I can feel the chakra signatures running back and forth between patients, I need to leave when there's an opening in the patrol. I can't just ru-.

I trip on my own two numb feet right before I reach the exit, making me fall to the ground with a surprised and pained scream tearing it's way out from my throat when I land on my burning rashes on my face and chest; I didn't have the reaction time to catch myself with my hands. I tense up when I realize I just made a loud noise, quickly covering my mouth and staring wide eyed at the tent entrance while sending where the nurses are. I can feel a few nurses nearby pause when they heard my yelp and two are walking towards the tent. Crap, I need to move!

I get back up to my feet as fast as I can and run out from the tent before they can reach me, turning a sharp right to where there are the least amount of chakra signatures in this camp. I can hear surprised voices shout out after me but I don't register what they're saying over the loud heartbeat in my ears, I can feel my body screaming at me to just stop and rest but I can't stop. They'll kill me if I do and I won't be able to fulfill my promise…!

I can't help the second surprised and pained scream from escaping me when a pair of hands suddenly grab onto my arms right over my rashes that are burning painfully right now. I'm going to be caught again! I do my best to try and shake those hands off me, breathing heavily and vision unfocused at the strain I'm putting my body through but the hands just won't let go, they're holding onto my limbs in a firm grip. I need to get away, I have to get away somehow.

"L-Let go! I need to get home! Don't ki-kill me!"

The memories of the battle are taking over my senses, imagining how they'll kill me in the most brutal way possible because I'm an enemy. Screams of anger and pain are filling my ears as well as the gunshot from my previous life, it's feeling my panic and desperation because I don't want to die! I don't want to...!

"Calm down! You're safe, I promise! No one's going to hurt you, little girl."

"N-No!"

I shout out loudly, still struggling to get away as I barely heard the male voice speaking to me. No matter how warm that voice sounds, they're a liar, I'm far from safe here. They might sound calm and soothing, but I can see through their lies. They'll kill me the second they know who I am and I'll never be able to tell my family what happened.

"Let go! I gotta-! H-Home-..!"

I'm forced into another coughing spree at how much I've used my vocal cords, body giving out on me as my knees buckle from the force of me coughing. The one holding me, male if I go by the voice, hugs me as some sort of comfort while they're rubbing my back. The action only makes me uncomfortable, trying to push them away from me while covering my mouth with my hand now when my arms are free from their grasp, still coughing violently. I can hear him shout something out, but I can't register what it was with my hearing clogged up by memories and now violent coughing. With a sudden lurch from my stomach, I bend away from my captor as well as I can and remove my hand from my mouth when stomach fluids and otherwise spew out from my mouth due to the violent coughing. I've pushed my body too hard and I'm paying the price...

My chest is burning like there's a painful fire in it, throat sore from bile and a disgusting taste in my mouth. I'm once again carried against my will and I can't get away no matter how much I struggle, I'm just too weak in my current state… Soon after my back is settled down on top of something much softer than the ground I was lying on earlier, medical chakra connect with my head and I'm once again put to sleep.

* * *

" _Why are you always watching those things? They're in a different language."_

" _It's Japanese, twerp. And I happen to like the action in it, so shut up."_

" _Hmm.."_

" _... Hey that's my popcorn!"_

" _I'm sharing your interest so you can at least share food, Clara."_

" _Fucking fine, eat it you brat. Now be quiet."_

* * *

The second time I wake up, I say relaxed much like the first time. But this time, instead of waking up with a tent full of unconscious or sleeping people, I wake up in a different tent on top of a softer mattress with a person sitting next to me, perfectly awake. As if they're watching over me… They know...

"Ah, you're awake."

The person comments lightly when I notice their presence with my chakra sense, I must've unwillingly tensed up when I thought about my future demise that they noticed it. I slowly open my eyes to stare up at the medical ninja beside me, vision a little blurry as I start to take in their features. It's a man, a man a little older than Aiko. He is wearing a Konoha hitai ate and has blonde hair, gentle green eyes staring at me as if he can understand my plight. He continues to smile at me with those kind eyes and I scoot away from him as much as I'm able to while still lying on the comfortable mattress. I can't trust him…

"You gave us quite the scare… How are you feeling?"

"I-..."

My voice gets caught in my throat when I realize I shouldn't talk too much and I start to look around, to see if I can use anything as a form of distraction. I need to get away, I can't stay here, I'm horrible when it comes to coming up with stuff on the spot.

"You said you wanted to go home, you have a family?"

He continues softly and I shift my eyes back to him and press my lips together to show my unease with his presence. I grip onto the thin blanket that's covering me with my hands shaking, pulling it up a little further to try and hide behind it. What does he want from me..?

"Y-Yeah…"

I'm uneasy, eyes flickering around me once more to try and find a way to escape. I can't stay here, I need to leave somehow… But I need that guy to leave first or I'll just get caught again.

"No need to be so nervous, you're safe now."

"A-Am I…?"

I can't help but ask in return, glancing uncertainty at the man while still hiding behind the blanket. Fuck I'm so nervous that I don't know how to act, I should put up an act right? But how the fuck do I do that when I have no idea how a civilian would act in this situation?! He just smiles wider at my uncertainty and nods.

"You're safe now. You shouldn't move too much though, you still have a fever."

I nod slightly, looking away from the medic nervously as I lift up the blanket to cover me up to my nose. I can't tell him I have it because of a poison, he'd be very suspicious then. I doubt a civilian would know anything about poison and what effects they have…

"So what's your name?"

"Mio…"

I answer without thinking, still looking away from the blonde medic ninja as I try to disappear behind the blanket. Damn it, I should've given him a fake name, not my real one! It's like all those times in acting practice has completely disappeared from my memory now when I actually need it! But I can't take it back now, that'd be suspicious of me... His chakra feels warm like a sun with a hint of a green feeling, most likely a fire user. And Konoha, a Konoha ninja with that hint of green to his chakra. They're amazing at medical jutsu thanks to Tsunade, but I can't trust them in any way.

"Mio, huh? That's a very pretty name. My name is Fuuta, it's nice to meet you, Mio."

I hum softly in response just to be polite even if I don't want to be, glancing slightly at him before looking away once more while I'm trying to gather my thoughts. I need to figure out how to act around them, I refuse to be seen as shy and scared all the time even if I'm as close to terrified as a Masago can be with his proximity. I can't trust him…

"What were you doing in those rocks, Mio? What happened?"

I can't help how my breath hitch into my throat as I remember the dead eyes of that nameless man who was lying above me, war cries surrounding me and tremors running through the ground as the dead man is sliding closer and closer to me. Death all around me, people dying one by one… And I'll be next if I make a noise...!

I scream out in surprise and fright when someone's hand suddenly touches my shoulder, quickly scrambling away from its grip and end up outside the futon I was lying on. The medic who touched me has his arm stretched out and soothing expression on his face, he's smiling and is trying to reassure me with his calm, warm green eyes. Despite my better judgment, I relax when I can't see those dead eyes anymore and I return to reality, breathing hard and clutching a hand to my chest to try and calm my rapidly beating heart. But I can't trust him.

"Easy there… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that so soon. Tell me a bit of your home, I'm sure it's lovely."

My throat gets clogged up as I think of home, shifting so I'm sitting on the futon once more and unsure of what to say. He'd notice if I was lying, I'm terrible at lying to people so I need to say half truths. I should-I portray myself as insecure and scared, I should stick with that. I'm weak from the poison… So I need to make him believe that I'm weak as a person rather than it being physical. With the memory of death still fresh in my mind, it's easy to portray nervousness and I willingly add a few more stutters than I'd like; I need to sell this while he still has his guard down…

"I-I- It's beautiful…"

"Aha, and what else?"

He gently coax me, leaning back slightly to give me some space in a way to make me feel more at ease. I glance up at the medic, Fuuta, before I glance down at my lap, tightening my grip on the thin blanket that's gathered on my legs as I'm sitting up. Be vague, vague but truthful. Remember to be nervous and uncertain...

"It has shops and-... and people c-come there to visit a lot. I… play at the park with- with my family."

I cough lightly as my voice get raspy at the end, closing my eyes and rising my shoulders in an attempt to seem more like a civilian with the cough. I have no fucking clue what civilians act like so I'm just going with whatever hurts my pride the most, since I'm a proud ninja the complete opposite should be a civilian right? Fuuta hand me a bottle of water when I finish coughing and I slowly accept it from him. I should check it for poison… But a civilian wouldn't do that. So I instead aim a small, meek smile towards Fuuta before I start to drink eagerly from the bottle and forcefully stomp down on the voice in my head that's screaming how absolutely stupid I am to accept a drink from my enemy. If I'm this angry with myself for doing it, it must be the right thing to do! And the tenseness in my body can't be anything other than nervousness to him, I'm sure, he can't read my thought and know that I'm tense because I'm screaming at my stupid self. Fuck, I hate acting I really really hate it. But ok, I have to do this, connect with the inner past, childish Mio and I should be fine. Don't do anything I really want to do and I should be fine, just do the fucking opposite to everything. When I hand Fuuta the water bottle, he accepts it with a warm smile.

"How large is your family?"

"L-Large. Got two grandma and grandpa, 6 uncle and aunts and l-lots of cousins. My cousins are like- like siblings… I miss them lots..."

"How did you get separated?"

I let my body twitch at his question even if I as a ninja doesn't want to do that, hunching my shoulders and keeping my gaze on my lap. This is where I need to choose my words carefully, half truths still but I need to be careful with how I do this. I only hope my jumbled mind doesn't decide now to have a 'brain fart' so to say, that'd suck...

"I-... I was outside the v-village and there were ninja fighting... My- My cousin was with me but-but it was looking bad for the ones w-with the rock symbol. There was lots of s-smoke and- and I was carried away super fast. They took me with them and I-… I j-just wanna go home."

I risk looking up at the medical ninja, nervous if he bought my lie or not but displaying it as nervousness about getting back home. At least I hope I'm displaying it that way, and I technically didn't lie about what happened. Reading off his expression, he's sympathetic towards me for my tale but I could also read it wrong, I've never been that good at reading facial expression so I'm just guessing. Maybe I can mention the poison if he's sympathetic...

"They did something to me… I- I'm scared."

I force myself to think about the dead light eyes of my late brother, just so I can flinch honestly and glance off to the side while reaching up with a trembling hand to touch my neck where they inserted the poison. I have to make it as believable as I can, I hope I'm doing it right…

"I can't feel my feet or hands… I n-need to get home, dad would know what to do…"

"Don't worry little Mio."

Fuuta says calmly and I have to push down the anger flaring up in my chest when he gently places his hand on top of my head, both the comment on my height and the fact that he's touching my head that's only reserved for my family make me really want to slap away his hand and shout at him. But I can't do that… A scared, civilian child would accept the contact and comfort, right? Right, I can't lash out at him.

"I'll help you, ok? Both with feeling better and getting you home safely… I'm sorry you had to go through that. What did they do to you?"

I nod meekly to him at his reassurance and close my eyes tightly, forcing every fiber in my being to _stay put_ and not slap his hand away _._ I can't show him any more uncertainty by moving away from him either, if I still don't trust him then a civilian would be reassured by his presence and willingness to help. They're easy to trust ninjas who are willing to help and especially after a terrible experience, right? I'm sure I'll get over this whole mess eventually… The war zone will get mixed in with my usual nightmares of my death if I fall asleep. But now, to answer his question while I keep my eyes closed, weakly tightening my grip on my neck that I'm covering.

"I d-don't clearly remember much… They- I was struggling because I wanted to get back. Then I f-felt a sting and I- I couldn't move… Everything became a blur, s-someone saved me and- and I don't know how I-..."

"Shh, it's ok."

Fuuta says, gently brushing away my hand from my neck to look over my skin after I explained what happened. I flinch slightly at his touch, nervous that he'll strangle me right here and now because he thought my description was strange. But I force myself to relax, letting him look over my neck as I'm unsure if the puncture wound is still there, it's been a long time and I did drink some healing potions… Fuck. I don't look at his face as he's examining my rashes now and feeling my temperature, it's too close for comfort…

"Alright then Mio, I'll be right back with some easy food for you. Then I'm going to have to take some of your blood to run tests with, I think we have just the thing to help you get better but I want to make sure that the test is positive before that."

I suck in a quick breath as he mentions blood testing, leaning away from him and hugging the blanket tighter to my chest while staring at him with wide and uneasy eyes. Shit, I'm a fucking Masago, he'll know if he takes my blood! Don't we have special bodies? Does that apply to our blood as well?! I have no fucking clue but this could be really bad!

"Ah, don't worry, it won't hurt, I promise. I've been a doctor for a long time and no one has complained that it hurt. I'll be right back, don't move ok?"

Fuuta says with a wide smile, patting my head once more to reassure my fears before he stands up from his sitting position next to my bed. At least he thinks it's fear of needles and not fear of him analyzing my blood, that's something positive among this horrible mess. But holy shit, what should I do!? I can't leave now!

He then leaves the tent with the fabric flap swinging shut behind him

I quickly look around me, making sure that the other 5 occupants of the tent are asleep both through sight and chakra sense before I do anything else. It must be close to night time if so many are sleeping already but there's still a bit of light shining through the tent's roof. I need someone to help me with this, I know it's stupid but I really need someone who specializes in it to confirm it's ok for me to give blood. I decide to call Taro, whispering softly to not alert anyone.

" **Mio? What is it?** "

"I'm- Ninja, Konoha… Blood test for poison… blood ok?"

I whisper out in broken sentences, hoping that he understands what I mean without me outright telling him; I can't risk talking too much or someone might hear me.

" **Konoha!? Our blood is normal for tests, it's only our chakra that's different. But Mio why are you among Konoha? I thought you'd avoid the war there.** "

"Couldn't avoid, walked wrong… I'm sorry. Dead… So many dying."

I start to tremble slightly when I recall those dead eyes staring down at me with the sound of battle trapping me in on all sides. I take a deep shaky breath as I try to calm down and shove away those images, closing my eyes with a stubborn frown. I won't let it affect me any more than it already has… I'm done being scared by that mess at least for now.

" **Cherry, It's ok. You'll get through this, like you always said you would. Did you remove your ninja gear?** "

"Yes… He's coming, help with poison… I'll survive…"

Before I get the chance to hear his reply, I cut off the call before Fuuta gets too close to the tent where he can hear me whispering into thin air. I sense his arrival through my chakra sense as I've managed to separate his chakra signature from the rest of the people staying within this camp. I'll get through this somehow, I made a promise…

Fuuta enters the tent once more with a kind smile on his face and holds up a bowl of food in one hand and has an equipment bag slung over his other shoulder. Or at least I think it's his equipment bag, it has the kanji for 'health' on it.

"I'm back."

He sits down on his knees beside me in the same place as last time and place the bowl of mush next to him. He once again hand me a bottle of water to drink from and I carefully grab onto it like I did last time and drink some more of the lukewarm liquid, it may not be as cold as the water in the mountains but any water is wonderful water. My motor skills are horrible with this poison inside me, but since I could handle holding a fishing rod for fish a water bottle is much easier when it's not trying to slip from my weak grasp. Fuuta proceeds to clean up the bend of my arm while I drink, starting up some small talk while he's preparing my arm for a blood test.

"Can you describe how you're feeling, Mio..?"

I swallow my last mouthful of water as I set the now empty bottle on my lap, looking away from what he's doing so I won't suddenly pull away when I see that he's inserting the needle. I do my best to gather my thoughts so I can give him a proper answer, what did those de buffs say now again…?

"I feel hot, dizzy… My sight becomes b-black sometimes… I cough, puke up things I eat… Can't feel my hands or feet, got rashes that itch and burn b-badly. Uhm… I get tired really easily too?"

"Alright, it sounds like what I think it is… And we're done, I told you it wasn't so bad."

I look towards Fuuta with a blink when I hear him put together his tools, the ninja wearing a bright smile on his face as he's doing so. Wow, that went fast really fast, no one I've taken blood tests for have been that quick. He puts a cotton band aid over the small puncture wound on the bend of my arm that he fasten with medical tape and gently pat my head once he's done so.

"Get some sleep for tonight, Mio. We'll work on making you better in the morning, ok?"

I dread the thought of sleeping through the night but I nod anyway, only to satisfy him and make him leave the tent. I'll just pretend to be asleep without actually sleeping, it'd make me groggy and forget where I am if I sleep. Fuuta bid me goodnight and walk out from the tent with his bag and the bowl of food is left with me along with a small spoon so I can eat the mush. I set the water bottle aside and pick up the plate, taking a spoonful of the mush since I doubt he'd poison a civilian. It's not the best food out there, very bland and almost tofu-like, but it's way better than raw fish in my opinion. Once I've eaten the whole bowl of food, I set it aside beside the futon and lie down to close my eyes. Now I'll only have a very boring night where I can't do anything except lie here and think. I can practice on my chakra sense, maybe that'd be enough to amuse me for over 8 hours.

I just hope I can get out of here alive and without rising any suspicion…

* * *

There we go, finished!

So she got a bit of war trauma to add to her death trauma, we'll see how she'll react to this further into the future. But now she's in the safe hands of Konoha ninja who will help her through the worst of the poison so she'll be able to function better. So the worst part is over now! Yay, took only two chapters for it to be over. ^^

 **This chapter's question:** Should Rin or Obito be saved?

 **Review replies:**

 **prisontaker:** Ah that seems like a bit TOO much of a cheat, sorry. ^^" She already has a bonus for being a reset, I can't give her even more of a bonus through an ability only she can get. Thanks for the suggestion, but I unfortunately can't use that without making her feel like a Mary sue to me. (Which is something I hope to avoid as long as I can) Thank you so much! I'm glad you're liking my story. ^^

 **AnnaRozeDog:** Oh yes agreed, he didn't deserve it... ;-;

 **Snare646:** Thank you so much! ^^ It's kinda my aim with this one, breaking the norm of gamer fanfics. (Which I really hope I'm doing right since I'm having a lot of fun with it.)


	20. Helper in need

Hello! Another chapter coming through~.

This is a bit longer than the other chapters I've written so far, cause when I read it through, I changed a bit more than I initially though I'd change. So... Yeah, sorry for the long chapter! I'm sure that these long chapters will be few and far in between. ^^" I'm sorry if there are more faults in this one, I did my best to go back and re-read once I changed something but I might've missed a few things!

Let's see how she gets away from the Konoha camp, shall we? Enjoy!

* * *

 **Helper in need**

I've been trapped within the Konoha medic camp for two days now; even if I'm here so they can get rid of the apparently lethal poison, I feel like a prisoner. I'm constantly on edge and think through everything I say to them but I force myself to smile at the enemy and be friendly, to not raise suspicion and to continue my charade as a civilian. It's mostly Fuuta who takes care of me and he oversees my recovery from Iwa poison with medicine doses every other hour; thanks to the medicine he's giving me, the de buffs on my 'severely sick' de buff and 'numbness' de buff was cut short so now I'm free from those symptoms. And according to Fuuta I'm healthy enough to be taken to a hospital in my village for further recovery as my body still feels weak from being chakra crippled, rashes are still on a few places on my body and my thoughts still a jumbled mess sometimes. But thanks to them I apparently escaped death from the classic Iwa poison some have used during this war, and I feel a lot better physically even if I can't fully relax until I'm within Sunagakure walls. Konoha ninja are really amazing when it comes to medicine, I hope Suna can enter an alliance with them soon to get more benefits to our village.

I haven't told the ninja anything they can use to connect me to Suna or Kaze no kuni, only vague half truthful things that doesn't have anything to do with my family name or our occupation. I haven't told them the names of my cousins either, you never know if they'd connect their first name with them being ninja so I played it off as being overall ninja weary due to 'past experience'.

I've gotten used to Fuuta's presence by now, he's ok as an individual but I think that's just because he sees me as a civilian. If he knew I was a ninja then things would be different, a lot different which would include Fuuta using his medical knowledge to effectively kill me for fooling them that I was a civilian. I'm still getting used to having a sense of touch in my hands and feet again, some of the numbness is still there but I can at least hold onto things without the need to look at it to make sure I'm holding on tight enough. At the moment I'm poking on different parts of my palms to experiment where I can feel and where I can't, it's a little strange but I'm at least getting better.

As I'm doing this, I feel Fuuta along with one other person approach the tent I'm sharing with other patients and I continue with my curious inspection as if I can't feel them approach, which a civilian really wouldn't be able to do. When I hear Fuuta push away the cloth covering the entrance I look up with a curious look on my face and blink twice. As I've created my fake persona during the first night here, I let a small smile spread on my face once I lay my eyes on him and play the part of cheerful, past Mio. During my first very boring night I thought back to how I treated others before I unlocked my memories and decided that's as innocent as I can possibly act and reviewed my past memories through my mind jutsu. Through my 'studies' I have successfully made myself seem like a kind yet shy girl.

"Fuuta! Can I go home today?"

Fuuta nods cheerfully and motions to the person who was accompanying him to step inside the tent with him, the chuunin level ninja steps into the tent behind the medic as instructed. I look towards the rather short ninja when he enter and I can't stop my eyes from widening in surprise when I see the white tuft of hair sticking up on his head, it being held in place by his Konoha hitai ate on his forehead. Holy shit… holy fuck, I recognise him, fucking shit. Don't rise any fucking suspicion, be nervous just be nervous, don't react in any other fucking way. I look between the two, eyes still wide to display confusion rather than surprise and grab onto the thin blanket I have covering my legs and lower my head when I look back into the child's cold stare. Just don't react, I shouldn't know his name, fucking shit crap what have I done to deserve this kind of bad luck!?

"Yes, you'll return home today. This is Kakashi Hatake, he'll escort you back to your village to make sure you won't collapse on the way. You still have a bit of recovery to go through so I could make this a compromise."

"Hey…"

The white haired and face masked boy says next to Fuuta, his black eyes drooping slightly and observes me in something similar to boredom. Kakashi is standing at the foot of my bed as Fuuta is doing his last checkup on me, which gives me time to 'nervously' observe the ninja. He doesn't look that much older than I am, I was right to assume I was born in the Kakashi timeline. Cross straps over his chest, tanto on his back with the handle sticking out, headband on his forehead and parts of his hair sticking out from the hitai ate over part of his forehead and sides of his head. He look just like I remember from what I've seen of his past, what bits and pieces that got shown in the show at the end. If he's 9 years old like I am, then he'd be getting his team soon and is still on missions with others, but that he's part of the war effort out here? That's as surprising to me as how early the war came , just don't react…

"H-Hi.. You're a ninja? But-you're as old as me."

I reply softly, biting my lip and look away from Kakashi's intense stare, looking towards Fuuta briefly and glance back to Kakashi once more. He's tense, I can see it in his shoulders even if he's positioned in a slight slouch and hands in his pockets. That Kakashi is tense doesn't seem to bode well for me and that is making me uneasy, I'll have to travel with a fucking genius that's the worst luck ever. I focus on Fuuta when he lightly ruffles my hair, ignoring the flare of anger in my chest at his action and look towards him with a "nervous" frown. He's wearing a kind smile on his face and is currently in the process of smearing a cool paste onto my rashes.

"Ah, don't let his age fool you Mio, he's really strong even if he's young. You said you live in Harakobi, right?"

"Yeah."

I answer him easily with a small smile and a nod, watching him smear the paste on my arm and I kick off the blanket from my legs to help him gain access to my leg rashes easier. I don't personally know any villages in Kusa but Taro helped me with that and described the village for me so I can talk about it in a way like I've lived there. I've made contact with him every night to make sure I don't do anything stupid, and to make sure I'm doing all of this in the right way so they won't suspect me.

They said they'd try to send a team to meet me in the village but couldn't make any promises; Iwagakure, who kidnapped and poisoned me, came with a sudden attack on our border as if my kidnapping was only a small warning and all talented ninja who can be spared are needed to drive away their strong ninja. I just hate Iwa more and more for every action they take, I really don't like them after what they did to me. If they can't send anyone towards Kusa I'll manage on my own, only it'll be harder with someone as perceptive as Kakashi to escort me…

"That's a two days trip from here, you sure you can make it ok? I'd like you stay another day but..."

Well two days if you are walking in a civilian pace and stay during the night to rest, which will be needed for my disguise. I ignore the anger bubbling in my chest from his poke at my current weakness but I force a grin onto my face directed at Fuuta, the medic still covering my rashes with the paste.

"I'll do okay! I'm lots better than I was before after all, and I'll have someone looking out for me. Than you so much for helping me, Fuuta."

"It was my pleasure Mio. Come visit Konoha with your family sometime. I'd love to meet them all."

He finish up my treatment with a wide, gentle smile and wipe his hands off a small towel and wrap up my legs in bandage so the paste will stay, also wrapping up my arms of course. I nod cheerfully in return and accept his help to stand up from my futon once he's finished, a wide and cheerful smile on my face to match Fuuta's own. That we would visit Konoha would never happen until an proper alliance is formed. You'd try to kill them all on the spot for even trying to enter the gates. Despite my thoughts, shift on my feet and rub my arm from 'habit' only to quickly pull away when I 'remember' my rashes to play the part of a cheerful Mio.

"I will when I can. I'll find someway to pay you back, you better count on it."

"No need for that. It's my duty as a medic ninja to help anyone in need. Just go along with Kakashi and stay close to him, ok?"

He gently brush away some hair from my face and straighten my shirt like a father preparing a daughter to leave for school, the same clothes that I've been wearing since I was first taken here because the camp didn't have clothes in my size on hand. Thankfully none have thought of turning my shirt inside out and see my clan symbol, it's a small thing that could have major consequences if seen.

"Of course! I'll be in your care, Kakashi."

I turn towards Kakashi with a smaller, more nervous smile and give him a slight bow as if he's my superior who I'll follow. Fucking shit, he's not my damn superior but I have to be polite, but I refuse to call him by his second name. And technically I have to follow him since I have no idea where this village is nor how I can get there in the first place. I'm very thankful that I can finally get away from this enemy camp, but I'm not happy that I'm assigned to the future copy ninja and genius Kakashi, he's a douche bag and way too perceptive for me to be comfortable with it.

"Sure… Let's go, Mio-san."

He drawls out lazily and take a step towards the exit of the tent while still looking at me. … I seriously want to punch him with how he's looking at me right now, but I have no clue why I want to punch him so badly. Instead of showing my annoyance, I nod and grin towards Kakashi and bow low towards Fuuta, someone I'm actually thankful to, as a final goodbye.

"Goodbye Fuuta, thank you again."

I cheerfully say to the medic nin and rise from my bow before I walk over to Kakashi and follow him outside, feeling Fuuta's eyes follow me as we walk outside into the morning sun. I pause as my eyes are getting used to the suddenly brighter light, since I've been cooped up in that medical tent for days. If I'm to trust my mini watch, it's around 8 in the morning so the morning sun is shining brightly into the clearing Konoha is occupying. Kakashi wait until I nod towards him to show I'm ready before he leads me through the camp, to which I match his pace and look around as we walk. Now that I'm actively looking for it, I can see that this medical camp is well organized and seems to have been here for a while. The war has been going on for a year now, which started with Konoha and Iwa, so it should be natural that it's been here for a while.

When I focus on my escort, I let my thoughts flow freely while I put a frown on my face, well aware that he might be able to sense or see it. This is the first person I know of that I meet outside of Suna, which makes me curious on how exactly I can affect the story. I never imagined it'd ever be Kakashi who I meet first, I'd have preferred if it'd been Yagura honestly so I could have some impact on Mizu no kuni; I have nothing _against_ Kakashi so to say but he's kind of a dick when he's a kid. He's a kid, like me, and he's already at chuunin level with how his chakra has been trained just like mine when I'm not chakra crippled. I really need to be careful with this guy.

"Is there something wrong?"

I blink at Kakashi's sudden question, the boy glancing back towards me with the same bored and blank face as always. With half of his face covered by a mask, I can't tell what he's thinking or even guess what he's thinking. Remembering what he asked me, I quickly shake my head with a smile, walking up beside him as the two of us have now left the medical camp and are walking along a small path in the forest. I don't want to walk behind him and talk, it almost forces me to meet his gaze and I really don't want to look too long into those bored, cold eyes of his.

"No nothing wrong, sorry. I was just wondering… how did you become a ninja? You're as old as I am and Fuuta says you're strong."

"Ah, That."

Kakashi turn back to look ahead as I answered his question, making me relax a little when he's not looking at me anymore; those eyes are seriously fucking creepy on a kid. I continue to look at Kakashi however as I'm truly curious about him and what his answer will be, I know of his past and what happened that changed him but a part of me is still curious to know more about the ever mysterious Kakashi. His attitude may annoy me but I can't openly show it, not when I'm still in danger of being eliminated.

"I've trained to become a ninja for as long as I can remember. So I've trained a lot."

"But _why_ did you become a ninja?"

I ask again, hand clasped together behind my back and glance ahead of us at the small path we're following. I'm very thankful that I'm not stumbling or have to rest as often, but I can feel that my stamina is not at its peak yet. I'm sure that I'll need a small break after an hour or two of walking, which will surely annoy me once it gets to that point.

"Why? Well… to become stronger."

I can feel Kakashi look at me as he says that and I curiously meet his gaze, blinking twice and tilt my head slightly to display confusion. Of course he'd choose the most simple and basic answer, I don't think he knows why he became ninja in his current state.

"Wait… only that?"

"Only that."

He confirm and nods while he continue to stare at me, as if he's searching through my gaze for something specific to which I can't look away from him. When he finish looking for whatever he was looking for, Kakashi gaze ahead once more and the two of us focus on walking. I hum softly in thought at his answer as I'm looking over the green scenery, very much out of my element but enjoying the walk somewhat. I'll become stronger too, but I'll become stronger for the sake of protecting others. I don't believe that Kakashi started to train to just become a strong person, he had a purpose through his father which then disappeared. He's empty… But I can't let him know that I know.

I let the silence between us stretch on a little longer before I come up with something to say, lifting my gaze to look at the small patches of clouds hovering above us. My mind still jumps from place to place but I'm better than I was at the beginning of my poison period, much better.

"I'd do it to protect others."

"Huh?"

"Become a ninja."

I elaborate, glancing towards Kakashi with a smile before turning my gaze back towards the sky when he's looking at me. I want to know more about him but he won't say anything unless I talk about myself too. From what I could gather from the series he's paranoid and never shares things, always carrying his own burden and for some reason refuse to accept others help.

"If I become a ninja I'd work to be super duper strong, so I can protect those I care for. I don't think I will be one with what happened… But I'd like to make sure nothing like what happened to me happens to anyone else, you know? I'd save my parents from danger and protect my cousins, I wouldn't wanna have them get hurt."

I smile wider, a genuine smile as I think about my family and those who support me on my way to become stronger. Yes, even Rasa, he may beat me up every single time but I know that deep down within that cold heart of his he believes in me that I can surpass him. One day...

"Being a ninja is about more than just saving people, Mio-san."

"Call me Mio."

I reply and nod slightly as I meet Kakashi's lazy gaze, still with my carefully crafted smile on my face. I don't want any honorifics to my name, it just sounds strange when I'm used to people calling me only Mio.

"And you're right, I saw it, but I'd still do anything I could to save others. What's the point of becoming strong if you don't use it?"

Kakashi doesn't reply to that and we settle into another silent moment while we're walking down along the small path. This one is a little more tense than the last one, it might be because I questioned his ideals. Indirectly, of course, I can't _possibly_ know about his ideals or his view on the ninja work. So after another while of walking I start up another conversation with my voice cheerful and openhearted.

"So, what's Konoha like?"

The two of us keep this us for the rest of the day, I ask a question, Kakashi gives a vague, bored answer, I speculate over a few things and then we grow quiet. I'm struggling to keep up with my cheerful attitude, always reminding myself that he's an enemy and I can't possibly defeat him in the state I'm in right now no matter how annoying he is. It's enough to keep me acting nice towards him through the day.

As night draws nearer, Kakashi steps into a more flattened patch of grass not too far from the pathway and says that we'll camp here for the night. I make sure to observe him as he set up a camp, preparing a fire for us and stuff like that, so that I may learn how Konoha set up camp in a grass and forest setting in case I'll need to do it myself in the future. The evening air is a bit cold as Kakashi is preparing the fire, but far from as cold as the desert. To play the part of a civilian, I curl up into a ball by the fire and stare into the flames with a faraway look as I feel my escort behind me. From what I can hear, he's gathering more fuel for the night.

When Kakashi joins me on the opposite side of the fire, I glance up at the boy while he throws a good sized twig into the fire that I have no idea where he found it. I wish I could tell what he's thinking, but I can't risk using my detect emotion skill since I have no idea how good his hearing is. But just a small insight would be better than be constantly on edge around this kid.

"Kakashi…"

I start off softly, still staring at the boy. I think he's a little older than me, but not by a lot. I can't remember when his birthday is but I believe it's around fall or spring, have no idea which it is. Either way, his birthday is ahead of mine since I was born in the 12th month or, as I used to call it, December.

"Hm..?"

"Do I have to sleep…?"

This makes him look up, the same bored and blank look in his eyes as always but I can see a small glint of _something_ in his eyes, maybe surprise, and he raises an eyebrow towards me. I meet his gaze with a slight frown and hug my legs tighter to my chest; I haven't tried sleeping yet, but I doubt I can fool Kakashi with pretending because he's got a great eye for detail. Stupid fucking genius, he'll undoubtedly take the whole night watch which means he'll be able to observe me closely. I can't pretend to sleep but I don't want to be vulnerable by sleeping around my enemy and risk getting nightmares.

"If you can still walk in the morning, I don't care which you choose. I'm just here to take you to your village."

I nod slightly and look back into the fire while pinching my face together in "determination". That settles it, I'll stay awake for the night and try to improvise my way through getting "sleepy". I remember bits and pieces of my old life where I pulled an all nighter but that was when I was a grown up, not a kid, so I have no idea how to fake it in any way. I know how my little bro used to act, but he was older than 9. How would a child act when they're tired? Slurred words, rubbing eyes, walk slow, hold someone's hand to lead them and yawning. Yeah I might be able to handle those, I just need to channel my inner child somehow.

As the night goes on, I continue to stare into the fire, curled up with my chin resting on my knees with my face still pinched together in a determined frown. After an hour I start to pretend that I'm getting sleepy by blinking slower longer than I normally do. I let my body relax for a few seconds sometimes, only to tense up once more when my arms start to slide away from my legs. Through all of this, Kakashi says nothing; he's a man on a mission and is keeping a clear eye on our surroundings, but also keeping an eye on me. He's keeping his distance from me, as if I can do something to him that he can't dodge or render useless.

The time goes on throughout the night and Kakashi let the fire die at some point, but I continue to sit there and pretend that I need sleep when I really don't. It's hard to think of the different stages of tiredness but I think I managed somehow, I'm not the best actor but I don't think Kakashi would look TOO much into details. By the time Kakashi's patience with my "stubbornness" has run out, I'm in 'asleep but not really' stage only to shake it off and look up at the boy when he stands up with a sigh.

"If you're this determined to not sleep, we might as well continue moving, any objections?"

I shake my head no, lightly rubbing one of my eyes with the other drooping slightly to still try and convey that I'm tired. At least Kakashi want this to be over as soon as possible, a bit dangerous to walk with a tired civilian at night but I'm sure he's been thinking about his decision long before he made it. Maybe he just want to get away from boring guard duty over a sick little girl.

"No..."

"Then lets go."

Kakashi helps me stand up by grabbing my arm after I've released my legs from their tight hold; I can feel his chakra's lightning affinity spark in a way when he touches my bandaged arm, most likely agitation or weariness as I let out a yawn and straighten to stand properly. The two of us start to move through the darkness only after Kakashi has hidden our encampment and I deliberately stumble over my own two feet and frown into the darkness to try and see, even if my chakra sense tells me exactly where everything is. Kakashi lets out a soft huff when he let me catch up to him and like a tired child seeking comfort in the darkness, I grab onto his hand to not "lose him" in the darkness as we continue to move forward. Kakashi doesn't openly object, even if he tenses up a little at my sudden contact, and he tugs on my hand gently to make me move at a slightly faster pace than we were before. Impatient jerk...

I think he's more relieved that we're moving than being worried about my safety as a civilian in the dark, I thought he was the kind of guy who did his missions picture perfect after the book so maybe he just sees an annoying little girl insignificant enough to travel during the night with. I haven't read the rule book properly in a while but I vaguely remember that there's something about 'treat civilians with care' or something. And leading a little girl through the night certainly isn't that, especially when she stumbles and you just pull them upright again to keep moving. The part of me that want this shit show to be over with is thankful that we're traveling through the dark, I spend less time with this genius, but another more rational part of me wonders why in the seven hells Kakashi want to rush through the mission like this just because the civilian was stubborn enough to not fall asleep. I have no fucking clue what he could be thinking...

We continue to walk like this through the rest of the night, Kakashi leading and me being led along by his hand with a few stumbling steps on my end. The sun starts to peek out from the horizon after about two hours of walking in silence, me being too "tired" to talk and Kakashi not being a very talkative person in the first place. We reach town around mid afternoon, sooner than was planned for since we traveled a little through the night as well. Finally I can get rid of Kakashi and relax, I don't care if there will be a team there to get me or not I'm just glad that I can get rid of Kakashi.

I smile slightly at the town, still pretending to be tired as we continue on towards the city.

"Thank you, Kakashi…"

"It's my mission to take you to the village. No reason to thank me."

He replies, tense and bored as always while he's still holding onto my hand to make sure I'm keeping up with him. Not that I need it, but he doesn't know that. I look towards Kakashi, making my smile grow a little wider to show that I'm still tired yet "thankful" for his service since I'm still a helpless civilian. I'm getting tired of acting all the time, tired, cheerful, it's just not me and it's exhausting to act this way.

"Still, it felt nice, to have someone with me."

It was not nice to have Kakashi with me but I have to pretend that I'm thankful. I let go of Kakashi's hand to walk on my own, hiding a yawn behind my hand that still has a prickling feeling to it from holding onto him and his agitated lightning chakra. He didn't physically draw on his chakra, of course, but my sensing ability is tricking me into feeling it in a way. It's strange but not unusual according to aunt Chiyoko, who is also a sensor but more support oriented than I am.

"Right…"

He mumbles and I can feel him nod slightly while still keeping his gaze ahead at the town that's getting closer. I need to keep talking, because now I'd be happy that my home is close by and I do faintly remember that past Mio was talkative when she was happy.

"Hey, once I get to visit Konoha, why don't we meet again? You could show me lots of nice places."

I smile wider, directing the smile towards Kakashi as I walk with a little bit more energy in my steps to seem eager. I doubt I'll see him again anytime soon, but it'd be fun to tease him about meeting me beforehand if we ever do meet again.

"Sure. Just make sure you're careful and don't enter a battlefield again, that was a really stupid move."

I grin and nod at his reply, ignoring the twitch of anger in my chest at his comment about me doing something stupid. I'll enter the battlefield again for sure, but as a fighter rather than a victim.

"Then it's decided! We'll meet again in Konoha and you'll show me around."

I look ahead with the eager grin still on my face as we enter the village proper, looking around at the different buildings. I hate smiling this much, especially when it's far from being a genuine one. The leaf ninja says a soft 'sure' once more as I'm now the one leading Kakashi into the village, walking with brisk steps in a direction that would most likely lead me to the town square.

I stretch out my chakra sense as far as I'm able, searching for some kind of ally if Taro managed to send someone. The people of a country usually have that country's feeling to them due to the nature of the chakra surrounding them when they were born, so sand and wind chakra is what I'm searching for. They said they'd try and considering it's Masago making a request even with Iwa attacking our border, they have a probability to see the request through.

I can sense something familiar at the center of this little town, making me glad that I walked towards that direction in the first place. If I recognize them, they're definitely Suna ninja and Taro managed to send a little retrieval team for me.

"So? Where do you live?"

"Close to the center. You don't have to follow me all the way, Kakashi."

I turn to smile widely at him, really wanting him to just go away and let me be on my own. He got the fiery spark feeling to his chakra, more spark than fire honestly but that's because of his strong lightning affinity. The sooner I can get away from him the better, he's my enemy after all.

"It's my mission to bring you home safely. That includes making sure that you actually get home."

I hum softly as I continue to lead him along, getting closer to the town square and getting closer to the crumbling desert chakra I can feel there. Kakashi is walking a little behind me with his hands in his pockets and is easily keeping up with my brisk and excited pace towards my "home". Due to still being somewhat sick, I'm very ashamed to admit I can't really walk any faster than this without feeling pain from my rashes. It fucking sucks.

I focus more on the chakra I'm approaching as we're not only a block away from the square, trying to decipher where I've felt it before. It's not someone I know well, since then I'd recognize them immediately, but I have met them before and know that they can be trusted. Once we arrive at the plaza, I let my eyes widen when I lay my eyes on the disguised Suna ninja and immediately break off into a sprint towards them, a little slower than I'd liked but a civilian sprint. To me it's obvious they are transformed into a civilian but since I recognize the chakra it's enough for me to know that they come from home. I let out a gleeful shout of 'Dad!' as I'm approaching, making the suna ninja look up from their hunched position on a bench and smile widely once they spot me.

I don't say anything, I don't need to say anything as I reach up with my arms to hug them once I'm close enough that it's appropriate. They stand up and approach me a few steps before they go down on one knee to accept my tight hug as I'm still playing the role of a little girl. I bury my face into their neck as if greeting a beloved relative, my voice sharp as I mumble into their neck.

"Enemy shinobi, just walk away as if we're family."

After what I think is appropriate, I let go of the ninja to smile at them and wipe my eyes from non existent tears as I have my back towards Kakashi. Playing the part, the ninja stand up and fondly ruffle my hair with a "relieved" laugh and look behind me towards Kakashi when I turn slightly to point towards him.

"Hey, that's the one who helped me! He got me here super safe."

When I turn to look towards Kakashi with a wide grin on my face, still needing to pretend since he's there, the young boy nod towards my 'father' and me with a distant look in his before he turn away to leave. Apparently seeing family together is bringing him some pain, understandably so but now it's working to my advantage.

I take hold of the man's hand as they start to lead me away from the plaza and away from Kakashi. Once I know he's not within eyesight anymore, I drop my smile and frown at the Suna ninja next to me, still trying to figure out where I know them from.

"I recognize you, who are you?"

"Momoshiki. I'm glad you're ok Mio-san."

He says and looks down on me with a smile on his face. Right, the chuunin who got bedridden and lost a hand after the shadow Kage incident, I don't remember which hand he lost but the one I'm holding feels normal enough. We're still holding hands to play the part of a family for the villagers around us, I can let go once we've stepped away from watching eyes.

"I thought you'd come later during the day but I'm glad you came early. We're an unofficial escort team for you, it was the only thing that could be done with Iwa on the attack and our time is limited."

"Ok, good to know. I hated acting like a cheery little girl, I just wanted to leave and go home but that'd be suspicious as hell. At least they got rid of that poison, but I still got some recuperation to go through."

I frown as I think back on my time in that medical camp, glad that I don't have to put on fake smiles and fake cheer anymore. It hurt my pride in a way, but it was needed for me to survive. But I don't plan on acting like that again if I don't absolutely have to.

"I'm… surprised you've been taking this so well. It's good."

Momoshiki says softly and I let go of his hand as we've now gotten away from the more dense folk masses in this village. I look up at him and settle my hands in my pockets instead, unsure how I should take his comment. Sure, I'm trying harder to have control of my temper since I first met him but I'm still pretty pissed off that I had to act the way I did. I feel a mixture of anger and pride from his half insult or praise, glad that my efforts are noticeable but annoyed that he's surprised over it. So instead of commenting on it, I change the subject.

"How's your other hand? Is the puppet limb working well?"

"Yeah it's working great, still getting used to it though. It's actually me, Sayako and Jirio who are part of your escort team. Taro-san figured you'd have it easier to find people you've met previously."

Momoshiki lift his hand to show me his disguised right hand and flex it slightly, I can see that it's a little jagged in its movement but he can move it properly at least. I nod slightly and feel a little relieved that he's adjusting well to his new hand, since I'm the reason he lost it in the first place.

"That's good… is my family ok?"

"Yes, they're all alright. Most of them are on the battlefield but Yohio-san is still in the village to await your arrival."

I nod slightly at that, a small frown forming on my face as I look ahead; Taro must've been needed as a medic against Iwa if he's not in the village. They wouldn't send a member of the council too far into the battlefield, especially since the next leader isn't fully trained yet, so Taro shouldn't be too close to the front lines of the war. Once I get home I should try and call everyone to assure them I got home safely and that they don't need to worry about me anymore. I'm sure that'll settle some of their worries.

As we walk out from the village proper and into the woods behind it, I can feel other two sand-like signatures waiting for us a little bits away, who me and Momoshiki immediately walk towards. It's nice of these three to come and meet me, especially as an unofficial mission. I wonder how they got it past the Kazekage, if they even did, and if they'll get into any trouble for doing this. I hope they won't, that'd suck...

"I'll talk to him once we move out. We'll travel through my dimension, then we don't have to take any caution on our return trip."

"Thank you, Mio-san."

Momoshiki says softly and I can hear the smile in his voice for reasons unknown to me; I just nod and continue to focus ahead of us as the two sand ninja signatures are getting closer. I'll need someone to carry me, I can't run with chakra like they can since I'm still chakra crippled from the Iwa poison. It's a little annoying but not something I can't deal with after being forced to stay at enemy camp for three days.

When we finally reach the clearing where the other two of the team are waiting, the two hidden chuunin comes into view from different parts of the underbush to greet us. The woman and man are both wearing smiles on their faces as they approach while Momoshiki drops his transformation to show his true form, puppet hand on his right arm now showing. I nod in return to their greeting, looking over the last two of the chuunin team I lead through the shadow Kage incident, they certainly look better than they did back then…

Sayako is a beautiful young woman now that I'm trying to remember their faces properly; she has short curly dark brown hair tied into a small ponytail at the nape of her neck and soft green eyes. Her body is of normal stature with a hefty bust that would certainly get a man's attention and she's wearing the standard Suna uniform with the beige vest and a white cloth covering her head with her Suna hitai ate on her forehead.

Jirio looks somewhat similar to my blonde teammate Natsu, short blonde hair that reaches down to the nape of his neck and brown eyes. The things that set them apart are many as Jirio is very muscular, you can see his muscles through his shirt and his gaze is hard in contrast to Natsu's soft gaze. Jirio also has a scar on his chin, most likely from a kunai, and is wearing his hitai ate on his bicep over his standard suna uniform.

Momoshiki has the longest hair out of all of us, his brown straight hair reaching the middle of his back and is tied in a firm ponytail at the nape of his neck. Along with the other two, he's wearing the standard Suna uniform and hitai ate on his forehead above his dark brown almost black eyes. His body type is what I'd call slim to be agile and he, of course, has a painted wooden hand to replace the hand he lost. It's only noticeable if you focus on finding the ridges in the hands joints, that's how fine craftsmanship from the puppet brigade are made. Maybe Sasori made it for him, but I doubt I'll ever get to know.

All three of them went through hell because of me, but despite all of that they're here to collect me with smiles on their faces. I have no clue what I did to deserve it, but I can't help but like the attention.

"Good to see you again, Mio-san. I had hoped it'd be under better circumstances…"

Sayako says with a grin, placing her hands on her hips as she's still grinning at me. I shrug and look over the three Suna ninja with a small smile of my own, feeling better about my predicament now when I'm surrounded by allies. I'm thankful that they came to get me...

"Nah, these circumstances are the best I could think of. I'm thankful you've all come to get me, I thought I'd never use what I learned from the kunoichi lessons but this proved me wrong."

Jirio laughs softly at my comment, his wide shoulders shaking with his chuckle as he points in the general direction towards Sunagakure.

"Well now that you're here and safe, let's return you home. We have a long way if we want to avoid any confrontation and we don't have all the time in the world."

I let out an amused huff, shaking my head as I walk up a bit so I'm standing in the middle of the small group. I can feel Momoshiki follow and settle a hand on my shoulder, since he knows what I'm going to say and ready for it. I hold out a hand each towards Sayako and Jirio, shrugging with a raised eyebrow.

"Nah, we don't have to take the long way; we'll go through my dimension. So grab on, we'll travel faster that way and get back in time. Not that I know how long the time frame is, but still."

Jirio and Sayako glance up at their last teammate before they both reach out and grab onto each of my hands. They nod and it takes me only one try to activate my empty ID before the world around us disappear to be replaced with the identical fake one. I can see the three of them shiver at the change in atmosphere as there's now no nature chakra at all, but they soon let go of my hands and look at each other with a slight nod. They're just about to bound off, expecting me to follow, before I put up my hand to stop them with an annoyed frown on my face. I doubt they really noticed my chakra crippled-ness since I managed to activate my ID immediately so I can't blame them for it.

"Hold up, one of you have to carry me. I got chakra crippled from the poison, I still get easily exhausted and my rashes are acting up again. I can't travel at full speed on my own like this."

The three of them stop and glance at each other once more after I've said this, mentally asking who should carry me. Sayako willingly volunteer and crouch down to let me get up on her back, to which I quickly get on and wrap my arms around her neck. Once that's done, the three chuunin nod to each other once more before they're off at high ninja speed straight towards the village without the worry of stealth. As we're running through the landscapes I open up my menu, enter my party list and scroll through my family party until I find Yohio's name to call him. Since I did say I'd call when I'm on my way home.

" **Mio! Are you ok? Did you get away from Konoha? Where are you? Did everything go okay?** "

"Yohio, calm down. I'm already on my way back with a team and I'm ok. I know you're just worried but I told you that I'd be alright and get back home no matter what. I keep my promises and I never intended to just lay down and die."

I flinch when Sayako lift me up a little, making the rashes on my legs sting a bit but not too bad. I watch the scenery pass us by at a rapid speed, determined to not let the rashes affect me until we've reached Sunagakure.

" **I know, I know I just-... it was my fault that-** "

"Bullshit."

I cut him off and look ahead, as we've now entered Ame territory, at the three ninja who are escorting me. They don't seem surprised in any way that I'm talking to thin air, probably too used to Masago antics to be affected by it.

"It was my own fault that I was taken and I'd rather have it be me than Makoto. If it'd been him, he'd have been inside the enemy capital by now and used as a puppet with no ability to get away or get any aid from Suna. He wouldn't have come back as I am now, and I know I'd have done something stupid to try and get that bastard back to us because I'm _not_ losing anyone if I can help it."

I notice all three chuunin glance back towards me with a mix of emotions on their expressions, expressions I'm not sure how I should perceive; but if I could guess what they mean, it's surprise or pride? No clue whatsoever, but it makes the chakra in my chest buzz happily and I have to look away from them all to try and have it settle down. I'm not used to my chakra reacting like that with strangers, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with it as I see the buzz of chakra to be something that happens around my precious people...

" **You're right… Sorry, you're right I just- you're my family and I couldn't stop them or help you. You got poisoned and I could hear your pain so clearly through the call and you didn't respond. Please, don't put yourself in danger like that again, you need to take better care of yourself. We're all really worried for you**."

I smile softly at his gentle and kind tone of voice, once again reminded over how much my family loves and cares for me. The buzz in my chest grows stronger as I think of those who care for me and I can feel a heavy weight suddenly lift from my chest, as if I was worried about their reactions to my return. That's a stupid unconscious thought, why would I ever doubt the love of my family? But hearing Yohio say that they were all worried for me with such sincerity in his voice soothes me in a strange way, it's nice… It's nice to feel the happy buzz again instead of burning anger.

"I'll try to be more careful, but I can't promise anything. I love all of you too... I'll see you at home ok? I'll need some more recovery to go through but Konoha took care of the worst of the poison."

" **Alright, I'll see you at home, Mio.** "

I nod slightly despite the fact that Yohio isn't able to see it and close the call before he says anything more that'd drag out the conversation. The sky is still bright and blue above us, as it's always day time in here, and we continue to travel through the land of Ame at a rapid pace.

"You care a lot more for others than you let them believe, huh?"

I turn to focus on Jirio, the one who spoke up, to see a wide smile that makes the buzz in my chest twitch happily in a similar way that it did previously. I can't help but frown slightly at the sensation, still not used that this large man making my chakra react in a buzz of all things. Well, all three of them, but I have no fucking clue how I should take this kind of attention.

"I guess? I've never really tried to hide it, but I guess my overall temper makes people think otherwise… There's no use in becoming the strongest if I don't use it to help those who need help. Sure, there are many strong people out there who don't need saving but I also plan on becoming one of those people; the one who becomes so strong that when they arrive, the tide of the battle is turned to our favor."

As my thoughts start flowing around that topic, I can't help but think out loud about my ideals; a way to kind of share my thoughts with these three and straighten them out at the same time. I never saw myself as a rambler or someone who tell others my thoughts, perhaps it's the poison that's jumbling my thoughts and making me say all of this now. But after the encounter of war appearing right in front of me, I know that my previous wish of never killing is impossible and naive with the era I've been born into. But… I look away from Jirio's patient gaze to look down at Sayako's shoulder instead.

"My aim is to have others respect me and my strength and hopefully save as many human lives as possible. I don't want to have to kill anyone to stay alive, I want to be strong enough so I don't have to kill to win. I don't think human life should be thrown away so easily as the academy has taught us, it's never easy to take a life and know that they will never make the impact on the world like they wanted. Saving many in favor of killing one or saving one in favor of killing the many; it doesn't matter because in the end, a life has been taken who in turn affect the people who were around them.

"I guess it's stupid and naive, because there are people who are truly sadistic and rotten to the core due to the violent world we live in, but I want to be strong to save others. I want to live long enough and affect the world so-... so we can reach an era of peace. That maybe I can be strong and respected enough to pass down my belief to others and have them _believe_ in it as well instead of thinking it's a little girl's useless dream."

"That's- That's a lot to think about for a girl your age. … Have you ever considered becoming Kazekage in the future then?"

I can't help but snort loudly at Momoshiki's question, shaking my head and look up to meet his gaze as they're still running through the landscapes of Ame. Being the Kazekage? I really can't see myself in that kind of position, it's too much responsibility and too many lives resting on my shoulders for me to ever think about taking up that hat.

"No way. Me? A leader for Suna? Leading others is _not_ something I'm good at and having the responsibility over so many lives would just- no. And being stuck with paperwork, political meetings and those long ceremonies? I'll just be strongest ninja in Suna with influence but someone else would fit _much_ better with wearing that hat."

"Why are you saying you're not fit to be a ruler? If you want to affect others with your believes, like you're saying, becoming the Kazekage would be the best way to do that."

I look towards Jirio again, the male wearing a curious and thoughtful look on his face as he's also watching me. I shake my head once more at his statement, that may be true but I doubt anyone in the village would want a leader like me. Impulsive, brash, my temper haven't gotten that much better but I've just gotten better at hiding it. Not to mention that I have no clue how village management works apart from those video games I played in my past life and my previous engineering education.

"I'm impulsive with my emotions and decisions, my temper isn't the best either and I doubt it'd do any good with political meetings."

"The Raikage is somewhat famous for his temper so that's not a reason to hold yourself back. You seem like a really calm and rational person to have been stuck with Konoha ninja and managed to fool them like you did. Consider it as an option at least."

I roll my eyes at Sayako and lightly hit her shoulder with my flat hand as a dismissive gesture and lay my head down to rest against her shoulder. I've decided since long ago, when Taro talked about me being the clan leader, that I'm not fit to lead people or make decisions that'd affect a large amount of people. I doubt I'd be good at it and make the right choices.

"Oh shut up about it, I've decided. But… this isn't something the village will know about right? With me being kidnapped and taken to Konoha camp..."

Since me, a Genin, shouldn't be able to both escape a team of jounin from Iwa and a medical camp of Konoha ninja without any major difficulties other than poisoning. If this info becomes official in Suna and somehow spread to other nations, there's no telling how many people will come after me to nip the bud before it grows stronger. I'd rather avoid getting a huge target on my back until I've gotten strong enough to actually handle it.

The silence between us all stretch on for what feels like minutes, the three of them most likely thinking about how to deliver this information to me. Sayako is the one who speak up, facing forward as they continue to run along.

"The only ones who know the whole story are your family, team and Kazekage-sama. We were briefed that you ended up in Konoha custody and we were to escort you home safely. Other than that we haven't heard how you got poisoned nor how you ended up there. But from what you've said I can gather a guess as to what happened… I'm not sure if Kazekage-sama aim to make this information official or not, you'll have to ask him about it yourself."

"I see… Well, I'll have to speak with him as soon as I arrive then."

I muse softly, nodding as I take a mental note of that. I didn't tell them anything about what happened, but I guess they heard enough from my conversation with Yohio to gather their own guess. It isn't that hard to come to that conclusion with Iwa attacking us right now and the group lapse into silence once more. Since we don't have to worry about enemies in my ID nor any kind of border control, we're making great progress towards our home.

My eyes narrow slightly as I think of those Iwa ninja who kidnapped me and are now trying to attack my home, I want to crush them all. I'm not strong enough to face any of them head on like I want to, far from it, but with the SSP I have gathered from our missions and my SSP scrolls, I can get a new much stronger ability. I can enter the ogre ID and level up to become stronger, I won't let myself be bested like that again and I refuse to someone's prisoner.

I'll continue to grow stronger and stronger, until I'm strong enough to take down those who will threaten the world. With my strength and knowledge, I'll make the world better than it was in that Naruto canon I saw.

* * *

Since I came back from my adventure, Yohio and mother haven't let me walk around in the village unless at least one other person is walking with me. I assured them that I'm fine and that I'll continue to get better, but despite my protest they're determined to keep a close eye on me, they even made my two teammate take part of it. All of them are still blaming themselves for letting me get caught and not being able to do anything to help me despite my assurance that I preferred that it was me. At least Makoto had the decency to thank me for saving him and promised to make it up to me one day, only he hasn't stated how he will do that. He isn't insulting me anymore, so that's a huge improvement, but I doubt this will last for long.

Outwardly, I haven't changed from the ordeal I went through, but I have realized that my wish to never kill a human being can't be fulfilled in a world like this. I have a much greater respect towards poison users, Natsu included, and medic ninjas for their abilities. And I've also found out that I'm one of the most stubborn people I've heard of when I'm determined to not die; when I told my teammates about the poison coursing through my veins as I kept walking, they both called me insane for going through that and not stopping despite all of it. When I called Taro, as well as my other family members to assure them I was ok, and asked him how others have reacted to poison, he confirmed that most would be unwilling to move despite the circumstance. So I guess I'm more stubborn than most people if I could go through all of that and survive.

Kazekage-sama decided to not make the knowledge of my kidnapping official but it's an A-ranked secret that only high authority personnel can know, he seemed to agree with my worry about getting a marking on my back if it became official. Since I returned and the news of my disappearance spread to more ninja, I started to get some actual recognition. I was surprised by it, happily surprised, since I didn't think what I did was much at the time as I was going through it. A jounin I often see watching when I try to beat up Rasa even approached and confessed that he'd never be able to do what I did and that I should be proud of it.

That weird buzz of my chakra started up again from that comment, the same buzz I got from Jirio, Sayako and Momoshiki when they praised me, and I'm extremely unsure how I should handle this new kind of buzz. The happy buzz is warm and similar to a campfire that warms your soul. But this new strange buzz is like diving headfirst into a warm lake that's just the right temperature where you'll just float comfortably underneath the water surface.

It's strange, alien and I'm still trying my best to get used to this sudden attention I've unknowingly pulled towards myself. It's a slow process, very slow, but when I walk outside I'm starting to get used to the ninja of my village giving me polite nods and smiles. Strange and unnerving but not bad per say.

At the moment, I'm lying in bed, staring blankly up at the roof as I'm trying to process the day of praise I just went through when I was helping my mother with shopping. She is in the room next to mine as it's night time and Yohio has gone home, making me promise to come to team practice the next morning as I'm not fit for light exercise. The rashes are gone and it's only the exhaustion and chakra crippled to work off from now on.

I just need to figure out what to do next on my way towards becoming stronger; I need to get more ninjutsu for one, I don't have as many as I might need for being a combat and ninjutsu focus. I need to be stronger… I have my amazing chakra control and regeneration so I need more jutsus in my arsenal, and possibly SSP skills as well. So far, I have only two fire release jutsu and the basic academy jutsus, that's far from what I'd prefer after how useless I felt when I got kidnapped.

I sit up in my bed with a frown on my face, glancing out the window and up at the starry sky to try and gather my thoughts better. I need to go to the library and see if I can find more jutsu there, now when I'm a genin I should have access to genin jutsu scrolls and they'd be better than nothing. There's also the gamer store in my menu, but I feel like there'll be more advanced jutsus there and not what I need at the moment. Maybe I can also have Yohio teach me other jutsus since he's a jounin; he should be able to access a lot of powerful jutsus and give me more C-rank jutsus to work with.

My team and I have done 5 C-rank missions, the 6th one is where I got kidnapped but I did get a notification that I finished the mission once I got back home. I've gotten 11 SSP and 3000 EXP from them all, which gives me a total of 26 SSP that I have to spend on skills. With my increased chakra control, I wouldn't lose much chakra when using the other abilities but I'm also unsure which one I should pick since I have so many different ones to choose from. For the same reason why I'm uncertain if I should pick up high level jutsus, I'm uncertain if I should pick up expensive SSP skills if it means that more people would come after me to kill me. I wouldn't really die, I have saves after all, but I would prefer if I didn't have to die any more in the first place.

I open up my menu, entering the special skill window to gather up a mental list of the abilities I can access with my current points without using my SSP scrolls I've gathered up. I'm halfway through My hero academia so I have 5 abilities from there that I can use so far, maybe I'll choose another ability once I've unlocked them all from that series.

From bleach there's Sakanade, 10 SSP that allows me to create a mist that'll flip my opponent's reality however I want, I can control where it'll go but I can't control who it will affect. It has 15 meters as a range and drains 1500 CP, but with my increased chakra control that shouldn't be any problem.

Next is Ruri'iro Kujaku 15 SSP, it creates vines that'll wrap around my target and drain their chakra. The more chakra it drains, the more the flowers on the vines grow until they're fully bloomed and kill the target, eating the flowers would also heal someone's HP. Chakra cost doesn't matter, again.

Tenken 20 SSP seems pretty cool, it lets me control giant phantom hands holding my weapon to attack my enemies. The hands will pass through me but hit my enemies however I guide them but it sounds too familiar to the Uchiha Susanoo for me to be comfortable with choosing it.

Ashisogi Jizo 20 SSP is so so… It's a poisoning ability but it needs me to cut my opponent for it to work, I doubt I'd ever use it. Would be useful to have the enemy be paralyzed and feel constant pain but cutting people isn't something I'd want to do.

Next up is Fairy tail , the cheapest being Take over at 10 SSP. It'd allow me to transform into any monster form that I see and 'take over' it. It doesn't describe how I'd be able to do that, but I'm guessing I have to defeat it to transform into the creature, not that useful...

Memory magic at 15 SSP is really useful though, it'd let me overwrite, rewrite and alter memories of others however I please. It takes a lot of chakra, but that's something that I don't have to worry about with my other abilities. That ability has some great potential if used correctly.

Dark ecriture, 15 SSP, allows me to create rune fields and rune attacks on others. It has multiple abilities that are all useful in some way, it reminds me a bit of funjutsu honestly. It'd let me create barriers with rules that people will have to follow or they won't get past that certain point. It has a lot of potential to be a powerful tool.

Arch of time, 25 SSP let me control the time of an inanimate object. I can't control another person's time but I could freeze, speed up, slow down or rewind that objects time. With practice it could be really useful…

Arch of embodiment is better however, 25 SSP as well, it'd let me create anything and everything I can come up with. Inanimate objects, again, but I can make literally anything happen with this power. I could make food from my past, video games, anything I want as only the imagination is the limit, it'd be really cool.

The gamer's abilities are really useful too… First there's endless magic arrow, 15 SSP, just creating endless arrow projectiles towards my enemies without stopping. Same with spinning magic arrow, 15 SSP, as spinning magic arrow does drilling damage instead of piercing. Not that much different between those two but it'd be useful to have an endless supply of projectiles and never run out as long as I have chakra. Not that I'd use it much because I'm a close range fighter, but some situations might need it.

Troll's restoration power, 15 SSP, gives me a boosted health regeneration of 600/min. That's a huge amount which would make me almost invisible similar to Tsunade or Taro. It'd be a very useful ability to have both in the long run and at the present.

Next is lightning arrow, 20 SSP, which makes a lightning elemental arrow that travels at the speed of light towards my target. I doubt there are any attacks in this world that can be faster than that.

I'm also able to fly for 20 SSP, but that's kinda useless since I'll have dragons later on from finishing the fuinjutsu quest.

Dual casting for 25 SSP, it'd let me cast two Jutsus at once and most likely making it into a combined jutsu of sorts. If I can learn a type of wind jutsu, I can use it at the same time as a fire jutsu and make it even stronger without Makoto's help. That's be cool but would take a lot of practice to perfect.

Even if I haven't unlocked everything from My hero academia, it has the most versatile and useful abilities so far. The first one is something I really want to have, Copy for 10 SSP. Depending on how I touch with the individual, I can use their Kekkei genkai for different amount of time. Imagine being able to use the bone pulse to strengthen my body or use the byakugan to see through everything or have the sharingan to read movements. Even if it's for a limited time, that'd be useful in so many ways. One thing is different about it from when I looked at it last time however... now, if I kiss someone _on the lips_ for 3 seconds, I'll get their Kekkei genkai for 30 minutes. What…? Is this the maker's way to try and throw me into relationship bullshit even if I want nothing to do with that? Before there was the full body hug to get 20 minutes, that was way easier! So very tempting to have 30 minutes where I can use a Kekkei genkai but I don't want to kiss anyone to have it.

Next is brainwashing, 15 SSP and another ability that I'd like to have. If I talk to someone with this ability active and they answer me in any way; if a few criteria are met, I'd be able to control them. Sure, it might mean I have to focus a little more on my WIS stat to have it higher than the enemy for it to work, but I can do so much with this.

Invisibility, 15 SSP, would be good for sneaking into enemy territory. The downside to this is that it doesn't affect my clothes too… So I'll have to take all of my clothes off and run around naked if I were to use this ability properly. Not really something I'd prefer; it's useful, very much so, but being naked to be invisible doesn't appeal to me in any way.

Explosion, 20 SSP, is the latest one I unlocked from My hero academia. It'd let me create explosions from a combo of chakra and sweat. It's sounds gross and I can definitely do that with Jutsus instead of wasting SSP on it. Sure, it'd let me be more versatile, but if it depends on my sweat? No thanks...

I sigh heavily as I scroll over my alternatives once more with a slight frown on my face; it's so hard to choose between all of them and I haven't even unlocked everything I can unlock. A small part of me wants to save all my SSP for when I've unlocked everything I can unlock but it's taking too long and I need a power up soon, not in another two years. I can't let myself go along with what happens and wait it out, I need to be stronger faster so what happened before never happens to me again. I look out the window up at the night sky once more, eyes narrowed slightly as I start thinking about my zombie ID and how I still need to gain more EXP and level up. I won't enter the ID without my family until I'm back in top shape, but I need to enter the ID more often if I'm supposed to progress with my experience gain.

Now when my family have gone out into the war, most of them at least, I haven't entered the ID as often as I probably should have. I should aim to defeat zombies every night and not just every other night where I meditate on my memories the other nights. The Kazekage is still using my ID for an income source and I use those times to hunt zombies with my cousins with only a few hunting times are outside of the official hunting time. To give me room to unlock more abilities.

I should change it up then, I need to be stronger and I need to get stronger a lot faster than I am now.

* * *

So now Mio is back home, got a bit more respect from the older ninjas around her and is looking through getting a new ability that she can use in combat. That's one experience over where she got changed! I hope it's a little noticeable, she's still very stubborn and somewhat rude but her eyes have opened a little more from the affects of the ninja war.

I hope you're enjoying the little changes that's happening to Mio as a character, it's a slow progress but she's slowly changing to become a better person.

 **This chapter's question:** Out of the abilities that got listed during her musings, which would you like to see in combat?

 **Review replies:**

 **Cupcake:** Thank you very much! I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable with it, but my aim is to make this story realistic in a way so it was needed.

Konoha are very nice, yes. Nice but not naive. ^^

Yeh I agree with you, that fourth war was just a mess. . And alright, thanks for your vote! I appreciate it.

 **Snare646:** Thank you for your reviews! I'll reply in order.

Oooh Orochimaru, that's a rare suggestion. Haven't thought of that one, thank you!

The F-bomb will dim as she's growing as a character, but she will still swear when she's irritated or angry. Which is... pretty often, sorry. ^^" But it will dim with time, promise!


	21. Determination

I'm back with a new chapter for you all!

I took a week off to spend Easter with my family and I hope all of you have had a nice Easter as well. ^^ I read through this one during my trip and realized there was so much I missed, I'll need to rearrange a lot of what I've already written. X'D This is why you should review everything you've written every chapter and not write a lot to look through later like I do.

But yeah I'm sorry to those who answered one of my earlier questions in advance, I had an idea that wouldn't leave me alone so I used it in the story. You'll soon see what I mean, It'll lead to something good.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Determination**

I'm looking around me as I'm pressed up against a building wall, my breath escaping in heavy gasps while I'm observing every detail of my surroundings. This is bad, really, really bad… I didn't think something like this would happen in my ID of all places, but it's happened and I'm in a really tight spot at the moment. Fuck, I should've chosen a new skill earlier but how would I know I'd get stuck in this kind of mess so soon!?

I carefully glance around the corner I'm hiding behind, taking a deep yet quiet breath as I start to calm down from my earlier internal panic and I try to spot the enemy I know is following me. They can completely suppress their presence and with the heavy nature chakra in the air, I'm practically blind from noticing the enemy before they enter my eyesight or cut into my throat open. The ogre world is a lot different from the Zombie world, for one it has ton of chakra in the air which makes my chakra sensing a little fuzzy which in itself is a great hassle. I'm sure a place with rich greenery has this much nature chakra, but it's a lot more than what I'm used to from the desert and the dim nature chakra I had to experience from Iwa.

Another difference is that it has a similar day and night cycle as the real world, only the opposite where day in my world is night and night in my world is day. The ogre ID also has a lot more creatures in it other than actual monsters; I've seen bugs, lizards, critters and other kinds of smaller animals live around here. The greenery that's inside of Sunagakure is refreshing in a way, but still alien as I'm used to it being bare of any kind of grass or even trees. The roads are made of gravel rather than sand and there's actual grass surrounding the buildings with huge trees sprouting out from wherever they can fit. I've seen three or four trees that was growing out _from_ a house and broke out through the roof to spread out its leaves to catch the warm sun rays shining from above.

The monsters in this ID were huge red orc-like creatures and ranged from level 5 and up. They were very slow, strong but were easy to get around once you learned their fighting pattern and dodged their wide swings fast enough. They weren't the intelligent kind, acting on instinct more than anything and thus every orc acted the same way as the other and I along with my cousins could take them down easily as a group or on our own. I could kill a decent amount of them to get a lot of items and EXP even without my cousins help, which is why I decided to enter the ID tonight on my own without any of my cousins here to support me even if some of them have come back home. I haven't leveled up yet, since I can't take on too many at once and I don't get that much EXP from our cousin group effort because the others are still so much stronger than I am and get the last hit, but I'm getting there slowly but surely.

I wanted to kill some ogres alone, without my cousins since I knew I could handle it, and this is the time the ID decides to _change_ its rules and contents.

Because tonight when I logged into my ogre ID like I've done before, the world was still the same bright and green place as I am starting to get used to. But what was different was that I couldn't immediately spot or hear any large ogres walking around the village with their heavy and slow footsteps. I was confused and curious at the time, but I thought nothing of it and started to look for prey; which was the worst mistake I could've made. Because when I rounded the corner, I was assaulted by multiple _small_ humanoid creatures with distinctive horns on their heads of different shapes and sizes; the ogres had shrunk for some reason with their powers _compressed_ , which made them a lot faster and stronger than they've ever been previously in this ID.

They chased me in groups and were coordinated like a skilled ninja group hunting down an enemy in their territory, faster than I am when I'm not using my swift agility ability and gave me a really hard time to get away from the large assault. They were all very skilled in kenjutsu like a ninja or samurai and they can hide their presence so I have no chance of finding them in this nature chakra buzz. And not only did the monsters suddenly change to more lethal and dangerous versions of that species, but now I have a _time limit_ to how long time I need to be inside the ID to exit the ID. That's right, I have a minimum time limit where I'm _trapped_ inside my ID and can in no way, shape or form exit it until the time limit has passed. The time limit is 30 minutes and no part of me is happy with this fucking change to my Instant Dimension.

I hated the feeling of death the very first time I died, I _don't_ want to die again if I can't help it.

So here is where I am, pulling my chakra as tightly towards my core as I'm able to hide my presence from the monsters living inside this space. From what I saw, there are 6 of them chasing after me and all of them are on level 10 or 12 which is higher than my own. The main reason why I'm not running around like a headless chicken dodging their attacks is thanks to my gamer's mind skill, it helps me keep calm during combat which is a huge life saver. Would be nice if Gamer's mind could _also_ help me in tense non threatening situations Like the time I was in the Konoha medic camp, but I guess there's a limit to what it can do so we won't be robots or something. I wouldn't be surprised if these new form of ogres can use jutsus, they're very skilled in their swordsmanship and it's something I haven't had to fight against before. We don't have any sword specialists in Suna, that's more Kiri and Konoha specialties among ninja, so I'm a bit out of my element to fight against a skilled katana user and not get cut up from their techniques.

I really should've chosen a new SSP skill earlier, why do I have to be such a fucking perfectionist? Even picking up Dual Casting would have helped me at this point!

My eyes widen slightly as I can subtly feel movement in the air behind me and I quickly jump to the side, just in time to avoid a large fireball from colliding with me and instead blow up the wall I was hiding by. I fucking knew it, they can use Jutsu. I have to stop in the middle of the street as I notice that all 6 ogres have appeared during my distraction with the fireball and have surrounded me on all sides. They've cut off any escape route I can think of with their swords at the ready, all of them aiming glares in my direction and watching my every move.

The ogres have drastically changed in appearance from when my ID changed; they look similar to humans with horns of various shapes and sizes on their heads, dressed in traditional yukata with skin tones more varied than a rainbow. Since I can't escape from their larger numbers, I quickly to split my bo staff into two and hold my tonfa in a loose grip as I try to keep my eyes on all of them so I can see who will attack first. My body is tense like a spring ready to be released as I can't do anything else but wait for some kind of opening. I doubt I can force my through them but if I have to, I'll certainly try.

One of them step forward and I quickly look over in their direction with my tonfa at the ready, it's a red ogre male who is level 12; obviously the leader of this group. But it's not attacking me like I thought it would; rather it swings its sword through the air to rest by its side, still ready for an attack if I were to launch at them, and glares at me with it's teeth bared angrily.

"Rebenok, Pochemu ty zdes'?! Vy ne iz nashego roda!"

I blink when he starts to speak in a foreign tongue, lowering my stance and looking around at the other individuals with my eyes narrowed in thought. Just how smart have these things become? Using justu, high agility and now actual communication; those kind of things aren't something that I should take in stride, this isn't normal behavior when it comes to monsters and how they are _instinctual_ beings, not _intellectual_. What the hell has happened to my ID? I can somewhat recognize the language it's speaking, rough sounding and sharp in a way; a language I recognize from my previous life?

"Otvet'te mne!"

The ogre screams out and I immediately focus on the leader once more, shifting on my feet as I ready myself for any kind of escape attempt I'll need to do. The timer for my ID limit is still ticking down slowly so if they want to stall time by useless conversation then who am I to stop them? I'll go along for now and try to waste as much time as I can where I don't have to run for my life. They all have over 2000 in HP and even more than that in CP, I can't take on all of them at once, far from it.

"Look, I don't know who or what you are but if you want to converse about something, that language isn't something I can understand."

The ogres seem taken aback by my calm reply, most likely because they can't understand my language either. The leader lets out a soft scoff and his eyes narrow on me as he's readying the sword in front of him once more, making look around me as I'm watching their movements. He then says something to his comrades in that strange language of theirs, which prompts three of them jump towards me with their swords ready to strike. Noticing their movements I quickly let my tonfa stick to my arms through chakra and shift my hands through the series of seals needed for a new jutsu Yohio taught me recently, clapping my hands together to activate the jutsu just before they reach me and infuse more chakra than needed to make the blast stronger.

"Gale palm!"

A sharp burst of wind expand from my body, cutting up the three ogres who tried to attack me and pushes them away. I use the brief opening they gave me to run off towards where their protection ring has gotten broken up, faintly noticing the notification window about how much damage I did to them.

 **-430 HP!**

It's not that strong but it has its uses when it comes to protecting the user from harm. The leader of the group is quick to intercept my path and I rush through another set of hand seals as I'm getting closer; right when my seals are done I raise my tonfa and aim a downwards hit towards his head. He easily block the steel beam with his katana and that gives me the opportunity to use a point blank dragon breath right into his face, the fire bursting out from my lips and engulfing his head.

 **Critical hit! -870 HP!**

The leader screams in pain from my sudden fire attack and I use his body as a springboard to launch up into the air and avoid a swipe of a katana aimed at my back. I turn towards the group in the air, tonfa stuck to my forearms as my eyes narrow in determination; I won't go down here by these ones. Just one more jutsu and I'll focus my chakra on running away from them once more. I run through another set of hand seals, this one being wind style as well, and make sure to have a wide stance so I won't be pushed back too far by the force of the wind.

"Great breakthrough!"

I shout out before I breathe out a huge, powerful gust of wind from my mouth that scatters the shuriken-like weapons these ogres were trying to throw after me and hit two from the group who weren't prepared to jump away from my powerful blast. I'm glad I managed to hit two of them at least, I hadn't hurt them before this so now all ogres in the group are hurt from my jutsus.

 **-500 HP!**

I'm not even close to killing one of them yet, but that's not what I'm doing this for. As Soon as I land on the ground again, I activate my swift agility and boost my legs with chakra to make a fast leap away from the group of ogres. I run as fast as I can, breathing hard behind my gritted teeth as I'm pushing my body beyond its limit with using swift agility, so much that the muscles in my legs are starting to burn from the strain. Thankfully, I'm fast enough to get away from that group and I don't stop running until I've made it onto the top of the Sunagakure wall, where I'll be able to see any pursuit long before they reach me.

As my beating heart is starting to calm down and I let my legs rest from their hard work out, a smile starts to find its way onto my face. Even if the situation at the moment was bad and I was forced to run away rather than fight, knowing that there are monsters on par with my skills is exciting in a strange way. Sure, there are zombies like that, but this felt different somehow. Adrenaline and excitement is still rushing through my body as I let myself wait out the timer for when I can exit, the small window telling me it's still 13 minutes left. I still don't understand how or why my powers changed like that; suddenly different ogres and a timer on when I can use my ID escape to leave. It isn't because the poison from the Iwa bastards messed with my ability, because I entered the first version of the ogre ID right after all my debuffs were gone.

I really need to speak with Taro about this, that the monsters are intellectual instead of instinctual could be a huge problem; not to mention that my powers changed suddenly without any reason They're supposed to be brainless monsters, created for me to kill and gain EXP, this sudden change can't be a random coincidence but I can't figure out if there's a _reason_ why the ID would change.

As I am waiting for the timer to run out, I turn my head to observe the desert that's stretching out from Sunagakure, my excited smile morphing into a soft one at seeing so many more cactus and greenery around than in my real home. This place is very rich in nature chakra, enough to let greenery sprout out from the sand outside the village. Nature can be really amazing sometimes, it's so much more different here than in my home. These new ogres are still a problem, but I can at least appreciate the beauty of this world and its greenery. A green gem in the middle of the sand dunes...

I keep an eye on the green village below me as I shift into a meditative position, practicing my chakra sense within this buzz to try and discern where the creatures within the village are. It feels like an impossible feat, but I still practice as I wait for the time limit to run out. If I ever need to go to Konoha, being able to push away nature chakra to feel the important signatures is a great skill to have. I'm sure Chiyoko can give me pointers to improve my sensing skills, she has way more experience with it than I do.

Once the timer runs out with a small 'ding' sound, I use ID escape to exit the dungeon and stand up on the wall. Night arrives in the blink of an eye as the world shatters and I can feel the chilly wind blow around me, making my body tense up and shiver from the cold. I don't let this bother me too much, taking out a health potion to drink so my legs won't be shaking and sore anymore from using my 'swift agility' skill for a longer period of time.

I could continue hunting through the rest of the night inside my ID, but I feel that it's more important to inform Taro of the sudden change to my ability than level up. I can level up another day with my cousins to join me, but this ogre ID won't leave me be until I talk to someone about it. And who better to talk to than the one person in the whole clan who has the most contact with our Maker?

So as I make my way home at a slow pace to not alarm any guards positioned at the wall during nighttime, I enter my party window and call Taro. I don't know if he's awake at this time or not, but I'd rather talk to him while my memory is still fresh from the encounter. I see Taro answer the call and I interrupt him before he can say anything.

"Taro-san I have a problem with my ID power. I'd like to speak with you about it as soon as possible, if you're able. It has changed."

* * *

Now when we're back on duty as a team after my earlier kidnapping an poisoning, we've continued to get sent on message deliver missions, minor patrols and supply delivery which are the safest type of missions one can take in times of war. Yohio is a soon to be clan head, I'm next in line for clan head and I am also an important resource for the village economy, we're not the kind of team that would ever be sent out on the front lines despite our skill.

This is our 5th C rank mission after my kidnapping, one week since the ogre ID incident as I'm waiting for Taro to return from the front lines until we speak properly. It's getting closer to the half year mark from when we became genin, the time where we'll be able to get a promotion to chuunin if certain criteria are met. A month and a half left until I'm made into a chuunin and take on harder missions with my team but without Yohio there to guide us along. We'll stay as a three man squad, thankfully, since our teamwork has gotten really good and our kind of team is designed to be a 'search and destroy' team as well as an 'ambush' team. We've gone through many team exercises in my zombie ID to solidify our different combo attacks and also come up with some tactics we could use in different situations, most of them taking advantage of my short stature annoyingly enough.

At the moment, we're camping at another message deliver site where we just finished our designed mission, an outpost along the shore lines of kaze no kuni where no one is attacking from but it's important all the same. I'm huddled by the fire, sandwiched between my two sleeping teammates as Yohio is sitting by a group of chuunin ninja to discuss whatever they need to discuss. I have no idea what they're talking about but I don't care either; if it's something that'll affect me, he'd tell me and the other two guys.

Despite the fact that two larger boys leaning their full weight on me is very uncomfortable, I accept it. It's been about a month since I got kidnapped and since then, my team has become a lot more protective with me. It's a little irritating on one hand that they think I'll let myself get kidnapped again, but at the same time it's flattering that they care enough about me to be worried for my safety. So through the mix of annoyance and flattery, I settle for being indifferent towards their protective streak.

After my kidnapping, Makoto has become less arrogant and insulting towards me. No more snarky comments about my height, no longer egging me on to make me angry on purpose and no more leaning on my head to make me feel smaller than him. He's still prideful and throws rude comments my way when he's able to, but he doesn't say it in a way that annoys me. It's hard to explain…

Natsu and Yohio have become more clingy in a way, something I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with just yet. Yohio always make sure I'm in his line of sight and often ruffle my hair to show his affection, as if I'll disappear if he doesn't make sure I'm really there and safe.

Natsu always make sure to walk slightly behind me when we're on missions, like a guardian looking out for threats and ready to intervene at a moment's notice. I'm not sure what to think of that either since, once again, it's annoying and flattering at the same time. The blonde is also a lot more open with me and Makoto from that ordeal, more willing to talk about himself and his thoughts. It's nice to know a little more about our calm and collected teammate, but that's also when we started to notice his darker and more sadistic side to him which is a bit unnerving to me. It's understandable since he deals with poisons, Sasori is even more sadistic than Natsu is, but when you've gotten used to a cheerful individual who has a sharp mind, only to see the sadist that enjoys figuring out the best and most painful way to incapacitate an enemy, you'd be weary of them too.

I poke the fire slightly with a stick I'm holding, relaxed under the heavy weight of my teammates as they're breathing evenly in their sleep. Makoto has his head on top of mine and is gently holding onto my wrist; he moved in his sleep from some kind of nightmare he had, he wouldn't settle down until he had grabbed onto my wrist and I started to insert some of my chakra into him. Now I can't move my left arm without waking him up, so I'm slowly starting to feel that limb fall asleep as it's forced to stay in that position.

Natsu is leaning on my shoulder, being slightly shorter than our brown haired teammate, and his head is pressed up against my neck in what looks to be a comfortable position to him but not for me. Natsu's blonde hair is tickling me as he's breathing slowly, hands resting in his lap and reserved even in his sleep. These two; I've come to care for them a lot more than I thought I would when we first met. I guess it's because we're spending almost every day with each other, I've felt a happy buzz around these two for a while; it's faint but the happy buzz is still there when I'm close to them like I am now. They're not on the level of Sasori approval, but I think they're getting there slowly.

"Hey…"

I look up when I hear Yohio's soft voice, seeing my cousin stand by the other side of the flame with a soft smile aimed towards me. The soft buzz in my chest grows stronger and I take care to not move my shoulders as I wave at him with the stick I'm holding, having used it to poke at the fireplace in front of me.

"Hey. It went well?"

"Yeah, mostly just talked about the war progress…"

My cousin nods and sits down by the fire, adding some more fuel to it so it won't die for another half hour. I'd have done it myself, but I can't really control my chakra strings to move an object nor can I move with my two teammates sleeping on top of me. Yohio let out a soft sigh and stares into the fire, a far away look in his eyes as he's most likely thinking back to his earlier conversation with the chuunin group. It's almost been two years since the war started...

"We have started to try and conquer the fire temple in Konoha but it's very difficult, their ninja are strong. Not only that but there are rumors that Hanzo is starting to make a move to join this war as well."

"Hanzo… He's the leader of Ame isn't he? Damn, if he joins in we'd be in a bad spot with Konoha, Iwa and Ame pressing against us. He's strong and dangerous, but-. You think he still has a grudge from the last war?"

I frown deeply as I think about this, watching my cousin as I try to think about this. I don't remember if Ame ever joined the third ninja war, I know they were active in the second but I'm unsure about the third that we're a part of now. If he joined it'd been a minor role or worse, more against Suna and Iwa than Konoha. If Ame were to join and press against us, we'd have to defend at three different front lines. We don't have the best military power either, rather we're one of the weaker powers among the elemental nations. If that rumor is true then it might be bad for Suna...

"Who wouldn't have a grudge? The second war took place in his country and brought it to ruin, anyone would want to strike their enemy if the opportunity arises..."

Yohio huff lightly and looks up at me with a small yet worried smile, at least that's how I interpret it. Does he think Ame might go after young clan members, for example me or Makoto, just like Iwa did? I doubt Ame would focus to kidnap children when they can damage their enemy's forces by killing them. I glare slightly at Yohio, throwing the stick I'm holding into the campfire as I try and ease his worried thoughts. I don't want him to underestimate me and think I'll let myself get caught again just because it happened once. And I'll be damned if I let something like that happen to Makoto...

"Yohio, I'm not going to be kidnapped by Hanzo and neither will Makoto. If anything, he might go after Konohas Sannin and ignore Suna completely. We can't be sure why Hanzo is thinking about joining the war and we'll be chuunin soon, you can't worry yourself over our safety when we're strong enough to assure it on our own. We'll be fine so stop looking at me like that."

"I know, I know…"

Yohio let out a quiet sigh and lean back on his hands to look over towards Makoto, worry still present in his eyes but at least it's not directed towards me. For some reason Yohio has let his hair grow longer, it's looking similar to Minato's hairstyle from konoha only Yohio's hair is green.

"Just- I still think back to those weeks when you were gone and worry for all three of you, I _heard_ you the whole time. All three of us were really scared for you and we couldn't help you, just ordered to pretend like nothing happened and told to wait..."

"You've yet to tell me stories about it so tell me about it. What were you doing while I was gone?"

I say softly as I continue to watch my cousin with a slight frown, I want to change the subject to where Yohio won't risk making my temper flare up. Because the buzz that accompanies the presence of a family member is starting to fade as he continues to look at me and my teammates with that worried look in his eyes. I prefer having control of my temper when family is near rather than family being the reason I get angry… Besides, I'm curious how my teammates reacted when I was taken and away, Yohio said he'd tell me about it sometime so why not tell me about it now?

Yohio blinks in surprise at the question and looks back to me; there must've been something to my expression that showed him my inner thoughts as he soon after gives me a warm smile. He nods and leans a little closer to the fire and hold up a finger to start off.

"Well, for one Natsu was really angry after we realized you were taken by that last Iwa ninja."

"Natsu, _angry_?"

I ask back, surprised that Natsu became angry over my disappearance. I've seen him annoyed about a trap failure or annoyed when Makoto and I fight, but never something that could be described as anger. He's usually calm and collected so I never would've imagined that he'd react that way. Sad, absolutely as he is a kind of emotional guy. But angry? That's not a word I never thought I'd ever associate with him. Yohio chuckles softly at my bewildered look, nodding as if he can read my inner thoughts once more. It might be a skill of his…?

"Yeah it surprised us too, he started to scream at Makoto and was ready to jump right after you. I managed to keep him inside the camp when I went to pursue them but they had a head start… Makoto let Natsu scream at him instead of screaming back, he was honestly upset and quiet the whole time because he thought it was his fault."

"Wow that-. I don't know what to say… I didn't think either of them cared that much to completely flip personalities over it"

I glance up at Makoto, who is still sleeping on my head, and I can feel a fond smile spread on my face when I think about what Yohio said. I can't picture it clearly, how these two reacted or what they did when I was gone, but hearing their initial reactions really solidifies that they care. In turn, I care for them too, they've become part of my small circle of friends and I'd give up my life if it meant saving them from danger. It's nice in a strange way, the fond buzz growing in my chest as I start to imagine what I'd do for these two to make sure they're safe. I'd go through hell and back, literally or figuratively doesn't matter. I still don't think any of them should blame themselves for what happened, it was my decision to take Makoto's place in the kidnapping.

"Now, now, don't go developing crushes on your teammates when your crush on Sasori has died down Mio~."

The fond buzz in my chest immediately fizzles out at that comment and I aim a glare towards Yohio, eyes narrowed in annoyance and fingers twitching as I'm tempted to punch him for it even if he's family. Oh fuck no, he won't go there; I have a non existent love life and I plan to keep it that way, and don't even get me started on what Aiko would do if Yohio tells her about this. I'd never hear the end of it with how she wants me to find the right guy for me who "makes my heart skip a beat" like I'm in some cheesy love story. Fuck no, I refuse to be part of that shit. Yohio holds up his hands in surrender when he notices the anger in my eyes, chuckling as his grin only widens at my expense. He's still my cousin Yohio alright, jackass...

Yohio gazes out over the quiet and calm sea that's far away from our current camp, a smile still on his face as he's getting lost in his own thoughts. I join him in watching the sea, needing a distraction now when my whole body is starting to fall asleep through pins and needles from staying in one position for so long. Now that I'm thinking about it, Yohio seems a little more at ease than he did a day or two ago, like a huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders. I wonder if something special happened and if so, what? Maybe it has something to do with his position as clan head, his studies are going to get picked up again once we're made into chuunin.

I shift my position slightly to try and get rid of the pins and needles sensation and accidentally wakes up Makoto in the process. He shoots up into an upright position, take a kunai into his right hand and look around wildly for any kind of threat that could've caused him to wake up. I huff softly in amusement and smile at his dazed expression, with his hair so short I can't tease him about a bed head but he should at least pay a little from leaning his full weight on me.

"Looking for your candy, spazzy? Sorry, it's not here."

Makoto blink slowly as he gather his thoughts and looks down at me as if he's still in a dream, he slowly put away his kunai and sigh tiredly at my comment. He rub one of his eye and aim a weak glare towards me with the other, still tired as he lean away from me. Just because we've gotten along better doesn't mean we don't bicker for the sake of bickering, he's still kind of a jackass.

"Oh shut up, if anyone's spazzy between the two of us it's you… What time is it?"

"It's still 4 am. You looked pretty cosy there, leaning on Mio and holding her hand~."

Yohio says teasingly, aiming a wide and smug grin in Makoto's direction while he's leaning his hands on his knees. I can see my brown haired teammate tense up at the comment and I once again glare at Yohio for his not so subtle teasing over my love life. Seriously, when will I ever get a break from that? He shouldn't drag Makoto into it either, that's just rude. I cross my arms stubbornly, both hands now free since Makoto let go of my wrist to grab his kunai and prepare for battle.

"Oh shut up, he was holding my wrist not my hand. I can't really shake him off when he was having a nightmare."

"I was!?"

I glare up at Makoto as he scream this loudly and reach up to harshly flick his forehead to keep him quiet, with that scream he's sure to wake up Natsu as well. As Makoto is nursing his forehead from my flick, I notice that his cheeks are flushed slightly red in the dim light of the fire for reasons unknown to me. Most likely because he was caught having a nightmare.

"Shut up, you're going to wake up Natsu. But what other reason would there be that I'd just _let_ you sleep on me and possibly drool into my hair? When you leaned on me and grabbed my wrist, I let some chakra seep into you and you calmed down. The same went for Natsu, he didn't sleep well either."

I point towards the second teammate leaning on my shoulder with my thumb, the older boy still thankfully fast asleep as he stir and nuzzle into my neck more. I shiver as his hair tickles me from the movement, leaning my face away to escape most of his tickling hair. I'm too focused on keeping my face away from Natsu's short and slightly curly hair to see what made Yohio grin wider at the three of us. Before I get to see Makoto's expression, he lets out a heavy sigh and press down my head away from Natsu's head by ruffling my hair. This causes a strong flare of anger to appear in the middle of my chest and I grit my teeth in effort to keep in in check, I don't like how easy I am to provoke...

"You're too nice Mio, just shove him off. I bet he's super heavy."

I tilt my head to try and bite his hand, to which he quickly pull it away from my teeth with a loud 'hey!' and hold his hand to his chest. I shove his face away from me just how he did to me, my eyebrow twitching in irritation as I'm still doing my very best to not actually punch this bastard.

"Not heavier than you are dipshit. And don't fucking _pet_ me! I'm not some kid, you know!"

Makoto get angry in return, slapping away my hand from his cheek and lean in closer so he can successfully scream into my face; something that's sort of the norm when it comes to our screaming matches when we've both lost our temper. I've completely discarded that Natsu is still asleep and more focused on making Makoto understand that petting my head isn't something I let just _anyone_ do.

"You let Yohio do it all the time, so why can't I do it too?!"

"He's family, that's different, jackass! When you do it it's like you're disregarding me, so stop yapping about it!"

"Will you two just be quiet?"

I freeze up when I hear the very annoyed and sleepy voice of Natsu, leaning away from him when I feel his weight disappear from my shoulder and smile uneasily at the blonde. The anger in my chest starts to dim down when Natsu glare at the two of us, rubbing one of his brown eyes as I uneasily hold up a hand to try and dissuade his annoyance with the two of us. When he gets woken up, Natsu is never in the best of moods and might be more eager to poison us than he normally is…

"Ah, sorry Natsu… I tried but Bakoto-."

"Hey, don't put the blame on me! You were the one who got hissy about me touching you _head_!"

I glare towards Makoto, reaching up a hand to flick him harshly on his forehead once more to make him shut up for once. Natsu is still glaring at us and I'd prefer to _not_ feel an enormous amount of pain even if it's for a minute with my poison resistance. The brunette glares at me as well and completely disregard the irritated Natsu we're currently facing. And Yohio is just watching the show with amusement radiating off him, that bastard.

"Shut up, I already explained it to you! It's reserved for family, dumbass!"

Before Natsu can decide if he should poison us or not, I break off the argument by standing up and stretching out my sore legs and arms. I shake my arms and legs to try and shake off the pins and needles in them since they're still asleep from staying in one place for long. I can't understand the Special crops how they can stay in one position for hours on end, they're really a league of their own for a reason.

"Aaah, young love~."

Yohio says wistfully, grinning widely at me and the two boys who are still sitting on the ground either side of me. I just stare at him as if he's grown a second head, raising an eyebrow and place my hands on hips. What the hell is he even talking about? We bickered just like we always do, there's no 'young love' involved in it. If there's any kind of love to our bickering it's friendship, I have no interest in any of them. He sounds like an old man when he says it like that, but as far as I know he could be an old man if you combine his earlier life… I'd rather not think about it.

"Shut up! You're young too, sensei!"

"I have to agree on that one…"

Natsu agrees with Makoto quietly and I nod in agreement with a sharp look aimed Yohio's way; he just laughs at the three of us and tries to wave away our hostility. I decide it's not worth it, I succeeded in making Natsu not want to poison me or Makoto from waking him up so I count that as a win. Instead I just shake my head at my cousin and point over my shoulder a little away from us, looking over the three of them one after the other.

"Well, now that the two are up, I'm gonna go stretch my limbs a bit. Sitting still for 5 hours is really taxing."

I depart after I get confirmation from the three of them and as I'm walking away to get some space, I can hear Makoto still talking loudly with Yohio about some topic I can't bother to listen in on. I should exercise before stretching to loosen up my muscles a bit, and to wake them up from the pins and needles sensation they still have. We still got 3 hours until we have to leave the camp so I'll have time to do my easier work out regime. I need to toughen up my training a bit more, it's getting easier to do it with my increased STR stats and VIT stats, I have some ideas in mind so I might as well try some out now.

I start it off with 30 frog jumps, touching the ground and jumping high up in the air without using chakra in my limbs; it's just a warm up to really get my blood going. Once I finished with that, I start with one arm push ups for the first time ever as a way to make my normal push ups harder. And holy shit, it's a lot harder than I thought it'd be; my arm starts to shake after only 6 push ups when I can normally handle 15 normal push ups without my arms shaking. I remember that Rock Lee in Konoha could pull off 100 of these every day without major sweat in the series I watched, I have a whole new type of respect for that guy because holy fuck it puts so much more weight on the arm.

I do 10 of these on each arm, my arms trembling afterwards and already panting when I haven't even started. If I don't increase my STR or VIT after this I'd be seriously angry, that one was difficult. So I move onto sit ups afterwards, giving my arms a bit of a break as I do the regular 30 from my father coached training regime. Once that's done, I take out a wooden plank and my bo staff from my inventory; it's a new thing I've added to my training since I got the ability Wabisuke that doubles the weight of anything I hit with it.

I lie down on my back and make sure to strengthen the sand underneath me so I won't sink in or shift during my training, it's hard to train out in the open sand like this but as long as I got chakra to strengthen the surface beneath me it's fine. I fasten the plank to my feet and lift my legs in a 90 degree angle into the air, my limbs shaking slightly as I'm trying to keep the heavy plank steady on my feet. This is putting a large amount of strain on my small legs, but I won't pull a muscle as long as I hold it together with chakra. Father don't want me to use this way of training my legs, but I think I'd know best what my limits are; with chakra anything is possible.

Once in position, I activate Wabisuke on my bo staff and tap the wooden board once to increase its weight by two. I can't help but flinch as the weight is pressed down on my legs, my grip on it wobbling for a second before I manage to get it under control once more. So with my legs trembling slightly under the strain, I take a deep breath before I slowly lift my legs up from their 90 degree angle to aim for the sky and just as slowly lower them down into a 90 degree angle once more. Kind of like those sitting training machines back in my last life, where the weight is pressed down on your ankles and you have to lift them up slowly. I repeat this, moving my legs slowly as the plank is stuck to my feet and breathe in and out in time with my legs movements.

 **Ding! Your strength is increased by 1!**

I grin slightly at the notification that appears before me and continue with my workout without missing a beat. I'm focusing more and more on strength instead than vitality, I need the damage dealing boost and vitality is harder to raise than strength. You need to run for long periods of time or work out for a long time to raise VIT and my training is all about time management, the less time I spend getting stronger the stronger I can become in the long run. I know what's coming in the far off future and I'll be damned if I let anyone I care about die.

I do 15 of these leg lifts before I set down my legs to rest for a few seconds, 20 seconds to be exact as father recommended that time limit for a break in training. Once my break is over I detach the plank from my feet and put it back into my inventory to use again another day. I continue with my training as I still have a lot of time left. It's always satisfying to work so hard that your muscles are screaming at you in protest and you just push past that limit to reach higher limits. With my flexibility and balance, I can get creative with my training regime so that makes it even better; not to mention chakra aid that can help me with keeping my muscles together when doing exercises that would normally harm my body. It's amazing what I'm capable of doing, ninjas and chakra are seriously over powerful in a way that never got shown in the series.

As I'm doing my stretches, after about two hours of working out to increase my STR, I can feel Natsu approach me from behind and I let him get closer before I speak up. I don't break off from my 'seal' pose, where my legs are straight against the ground while I stretch my head up towards the sky to stretch out my back. It's a good way to stretch your neck too.

"What's up?"

I ask once Natsu is close enough to hear me, tilting my head slightly so I can see him out of the corner of my eye. The blonde pauses when I look at him but just smiles and continues to walk towards me.

"Well… Can I join you in your morning training next time?"

I raise an eyebrow at him, slightly surprised to hear this as I glance back towards the sky while mentally counting the seconds needed for the stretching period in my head. He isn't really the one in our team who focuses on brute strength, that's my position more than anything. Makoto who is focusing on long range is stronger than Natsu is, the blonde is more focused on tactics than hitting the opponent harder.

"Well-... if you're sure."

I say and roll out from my seal pose to sit on my butt while looking up at Natsu. I stretch out my legs in front of me and take hold of my right foot as a preparation for my next stretch. I lean down over my leg, eyes closed as I try to find a position where my calves will get stretched out too.

"It's not gonna be easy you know. What made you wanna join me? You're not really focusing on brute strength in battle, that's what I'm here for."

I can hear Natsu chuckle at my question and I can imagine that he's grinning and scratching his cheek at the moment, something he always does when he's unsure how to answer. If I can imagine what he's doing, then I have really spent too much time with this guy. And I guess that sometimes he shows too many emotions, it's something all three of us have to work on.

"I just figured that I should get stronger. My techniques are good but I don't really have stamina and strength to keep up with you and Makoto if the battle drags on for a long time. When do you usually do your morning training?"

I change leg and do the same thing, grabbing onto my foot and lean my whole body over my leg. The bad thing about being flexible, I can't find any way to stretch effectively.

 **Ding! Your Flexibility skill leveled up by 1!**

"I start at 5.30, but that's cause I'm always awake. If you're determined to join me, we can meet up at the training ground at 6.30, that'd give us one and a half hour before training. It's enough to do the basic routine for you, I'm sure."

I sit up and move my feet under me to stand up, brushing the sand off my clothes as I'm officially finished with my work out and stretching. I look up and down Natsus body, letting out a thoughtful hum as I try to think over what level I should start him on. He can't start on my toddler level when I first started, that's way too easy for him… I think he'd fit somewhere in the middle, he does have muscle just not as much as I have. Natsu looks a little nervous but he nods once I focus on his face, a small smile aimed my way and a thankful glint in his eyes. It makes sense, that he want to catch up to me and Makoto in physical strength, out of the three of us he's absolutely the weakest. Sure, his taijutsu is great and he can easily dance around his opponents if he needs to, but having more power to his punches is never wrong.

"Sounds good to me. Thanks Mio, I appreciate it."

"Eh, don't mention it. I expect you to at least stick to it for a week. I'm not gonna go easy on you."

I say lightly with a grin and cross my arms confidently, I'm sure he'll make it if he has the determination for it. If he didn't, he wouldn't have asked me for training. Besides, it may be fun to force him to work harder than he's done before.

"S-Sure, I'll do my best."

Now the blonde looks even more nervous than he did before, scratching his cheek as he gazes back to where Yohio and Makoto are by the camp. I can't help but let out a fond huff at his reaction, stepping up to flick him lightly in the forehead. While my teammate flinches back and covers the spot I just flicked, I walk past him towards the other two of our team with a wave to Natsu from over my shoulder.

"Don't worry, you're not gonna die from it, the training will show results."

I can soon feel Natsu join to walk beside me, still looking ahead as we get closer to Yohio and Makoto fixing up our camping stuff for departure as our jounin teacher is talking with the other ninja once more.

"Is there anything you want to learn in return?"

I shake my head with a 'nah' as answer to his question, looking up at him from the corner of my eye. It's nice of him to offer, but I don't think anything he can teach me in return could be added to my current fighting style. He's a tactician, I'm someone who punch my enemies until they crumble, no roundabout way to do it for me.

"My fighting style is to throw such powerful jutsus or hits that they can't block it, break through their defense instead of dancing around it like you do. I already know enough about poison from Sasori to know it's not my thing either, but thanks anyway."

"There are poisons that can take effect from skin contact though, I could fix some of that if you want. Cause you're mostly immune to my 'nerve burner' now right?"

I think about this with a quiet hum, narrowing my eyes at my teammate. That's true, there are some that work with skin contact, but that's also why most ninja make sure to have their bodies mostly covered. So after a few seconds of thinking I shake my head with a slight smile, reaching over to lightly knock on his shoulder with my knuckles.

"Thanks for the offer, but there are too few ninja who have their skin exposed that it'd be useful to me. Sure, it would be nice, but the majority of ninja wear long sleeves and pants with bandages over their ankles. It'd be a waste of time on your end."

"If so, I'll make sure to find another way to repay you. You can count on that."

Natsu nods towards me with a wide, bright smile that lights up his whole face. Sometimes I wonder how he can glow like that, I thought only Naruto the protagonist could do that but I suppose it's a secret that'll always elude me.

"Heey! You done with that routine now? Seriously, why do girls always take such a long time!?"

Makoto shouts out towards us as we approach, facing us with a frown and crosses his arms in a grumpy fashion. I glare slightly at him, eyes narrowing slightly as i do my best to keep my anger in check as it starts to flare up in my chest. I don't know why but I get the impression he thinks my training regime is a waste of time, as if he doesn't do anything else than train all day. He thinks that he'll always top me in strength however, just because he's a boy and because he beat me at a arm wrestling match once.

"Watch what you're saying, shithead. Like anyone else, I work hard every day to improve and get stronger. And I'm 4 years younger than you and that's the _only_ reason why I'm not stronger than you yet. What have I fucking said about looking down on me?"

"Hey, I train too, I just don't do it during missions! We're supposed to be on guard here, remember?"

He says back as me and Natsu have now reached him. I twitch as my temper flare up more when Makoto _bends down_ to match me in height, fists clenched at my sides and trying hard to hold back the urge to punch him. The nerve of this guy…

"Hey, I can sense almost everything within a mile from here! If anything happens, I'd be the first to know!"

"What about the time you almost got eaten by a desert trap!?"

I flinch slightly when he mentions the time our mission got interrupted by a sudden desert trapper that burst out from the ground. It was surprisingly violent towards ninja and it tried to eat us, I had no way of knowing that it would attack us and we were all taken by surprise

"That's beside the point! I wasn't focusing on the ground! Who'd focus on the ground in the fucking desert anyway!?"

"Well, if you're such a 'sense it all'... What about the time a flock of eagles attacked us?"

Makoto leans back and stares down at me with a judging stare, making me frown more and get uncertain how to act as the fire in my chest is only growing. I'm quickly losing my composure and at the moment Natsu is doing nothing to stop the upcoming screaming match.

"That-... That was-..."

"Or the time we stumbled into a boobytrapped area? Got attacked by giant lizards? Fell into a fucking 10 feet deep hole!?"

"Ok, ok shut up!"

I scream out angrily and aim a fist towards his face, which he easily dodges with a slight smirk on his face. I continue to aim punches and kicks towards him, getting more frustrated that he blocks all of my attacks as we're moving backwards towards Yohio. It might be his way to help me with my anger, but as I'm trying to hit him I scream out in my defense.

"I just have bad luck with nature, fucktard! Animals apparently hate me! And if a trap doesn't have any chakra to it, I wouldn't notice it, dumbass! I'm a _chakra_ sensor, not a fucking trouble sensor!"

"Well maybe you should get better at using your _eyes_ instead of your chakra sense!"

I'm about to scream back at him with another punch aimed towards his head, only to freeze up when a senbon gets embedded into my neck and causes a huge flood of pure agony to run through my system. I fall to the ground in a twitching mess, teeth gritted in an effort to not make any noises of pain while I can see Makoto do the same as I am doing. A pair of feet stop in front of me and I slowly look up towards Natsus smiling face, my limbs twitching in pain as I'm still lying on the ground below him. He look between the two of us, still smiling politely.

"Now calm down. We can just agree on that almost every mission with Mio Masago turn out to have some kind of trouble attached to it."

I grunt loudly in frustration and pain, digging my fingers into the sand as the poison is still enveloping my senses and causing me pain. I can hear Makoto emit a similar sound of pain and frustration and I feel more than see Natsu pull the senbon he threw previously out from my neck. It doesn't really bring up fond memories from the time I got poisoned by Iwa, but I know it's Natsu so that's something good. I've kinda gotten used to his poison...

We move out from the camp once the poison has faded from my system and I'm decisively quiet towards Natsu and Makoto for the rest of the trip. It's not my fault that nature hates me and getting poisoned by Natsu is never a nice experience. Although on our way back, our mission is interrupted once more by nature when I accidentally step into a desert bee hive and release the full force of their army towards my face.

I really have the worst of luck lately; first the Iwa thing, then angry nature going after me, then the ID suddenly changing. I really hope Taro can get back home soon so I'll at least get that ID thing out from my hair… I hate not knowing what to do.

* * *

Some nice team bonding moment was needed after everything that's happened~. They're starting to become great friends despite their differences and I hope that it's shown here. And no, there's no love at all between any of them at the moment, it's just Yohio teasing them all about it. So the Ogre ID has changed for the worse for our little protagonist, you'll see how they deal with it next time~.

 **This chapter's question:** Using Fuinjutsu and seals, what modern technology would you want to make? Anything would be possible! X3

 **Review replies:**

 **fantasydreamerbunnydragon:** Oh hello and welcome back. I'll reply to your reviews in order! ^^

Good to have you back and no worries about missing out stuff. Real life stuff comes first after all. I'm sorry that you had a bad day and your account got logged off so you couldn't log in again, but I'm glad that you like my story so much to save it as a bookmark. Thank you! ^^ Pein destroying the city and saving Sasuke's family, understandable choices, thank you!

Well your name is always displayed on the top right corner of the site so if you ever wonder what your new account name is you can see it there. Save Rin, gotcha.

Yes it does sound like a very fun skill doesn't it? The Maker changed it to make it more fun after all. XD However, the character you're describing is Sasori. He doesn't have a kekkei genkai like the skill would copy, rather he's a very skilled puppet user who is very knowledgeable about poison. Mio has been growing up knowing Sasori through Yohio and she has no intention, nor reason, to ever try to make a move on him. Sasori was a brief child crush, nothing more. Now they're just good friends.

 **prisontaker:** Oh yeah that's true, I haven't read the manga in a long time so I fogot that he fused spells like that. :o Thanks for reminding me! Yeah, dual casting would be a really great skill for Mio to have especially with how you worded it. Thank you so much! I'll absolutely take that into consideration when it comes to the point to choose her second high cost skill! (her first is already chosen)

Oooh I've heard of that one, a power that can counter any spell and physical attack with a single hit from a sword. Seven deadly sins, right? Hmm I should check it out to see if I can gather up more powers from there... Thank you so much! ^^

Ooooh that DOES sound useful... though I'm uncertain what different powers I'd pick from the dragon ball universe, there needs to be at least 10 to choose from and what I remember from the series they're not that diverse in power or abilities they have... Sure, there are aliens, but I don't know if I'd feel comfortable to implement those kind of powers and risk Mio mutating because of it. ^^" Thank you for the suggestion though, but I gotta pass on the dragon ball universe. I'm sorry.

I'm glad that you're enjoying it and helping me with the anime powers. I really, really appreciate it. X3

 **Raphaim:** Thanks for the reviews! I'll answer them in order. ^^

Ah yeah, a resets greatest weakness is the fear they get stuck with when they die. And I thought it'd make sense that Mio would be especially freaked out from the long exposure of the eyes. Or if it was in the konoha camp, it was acting with unease, not really fright. I mean you can still get uneasy and uncertain, my version of gamer's mind doesn't affect that.

Troll regen is indeed a very useful passive ability. X3 I think the same thing about arch of embodiment, it'd be very useful. Only the buildings would be powered by chakra so it's uncertain how long they'd hold in the long run. Thanks for your suggestions!

 **QueenRiddle:** I'll answer them in order, thank you!

Oh wow, reading that makes me so happy. Thank you very much! The thing that makes me wanna keep writing the story is the character Mio, so as long as my love for her never dies I doubt the story itself will die. I'm having a lot of fun writing it and I'm very happy you're having fun reading it! X3 I also love gamer fanfic but kinda missed the feeling that they'd have someone to lean on regarding their powers, that's the main reason I made this, to maybe start a new trend. Hopefully XD There's so much you can do with it!

Yeah, she's lost due to her perfectionism nature, it's a bit troublesome. ^^" And yeah, I understand what you mean, and since she doesn't really have a firm focus she is currently weaker than Kakashi for sure. In the next chapter stuff will happen that'll make her take a decision on which high cost SSP skill she shall use and it'll be her main 'ace' weapon through the rest of the story. Since it's such a hard decision, she wants to wait even longer before she picks one, but I'm throwing something her way that will MAKE her have to come to a decision. If she'd have done it like she wanted she'd have waited until after she made chuunin and then post pone the decision even further. But that's not something that you can afford in a war. X'D

About the stats though, I'm sorry but I can't do that. I'm writing the stats to accommodate to where I'm writing in the story and currently I'm way ahead of where she's at right now. I don't remember what her stats are at this point nor which skills she's acquired. Besides, my focus on this story isn't the stats or the skills she acquires, to some it might be an annoying block of text they just want to skip through. I want this story to be focused on the actual adventure and how her choices affect the people and the world around her. She's strong and will only get stronger, but I don't want people to see the change through her stats but rather what she achieves. I hope you can understand and I'm sorry I can't follow through with your request.


	22. Clan meetings

I'm sorry! I'm back, hi!

I've been stuck in school work as the year is getting close to its end so I haven't had time to look over the chapter. But here it is! Two weeks late... Sorry for the delay.

But yeh, here's the chapter! If you haven't seen it yet I have a **Poll on my user page** concerning Mio's love life. If you want to vote there I'd appreciate it but I can assure you that no romance will actually _happen_ until she's of legal age. Which in my mind is around 16 years old. But now, please enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **Clan meetings**

I take a deep breath as I'm standing in front of the door that will lead to the dining room of Taro and the twins home, nervous since I was told to arrive a few minutes later than the others. Once two minutes has passed since the initial meeting time, I enter the dining room and look over the occupants as they're all sitting around the large dinner table. A day after Taro arrived back home from the front lines, a meeting was called as per my request to figure out why my powers have changed. Both civilian mothers are part of the meeting, Emi and my mother, as well as Taro, Chiyoko and Goru who are Yohio and Aiko's parents, Daisuke who is Yuuto's father, all my 4 grandparents, Aiko, the twins Sho and Setsuko, Yuuto and Yohio.

So all of my cousins, all my grandparents and 6 of 8 parents are present where my father and Aunt Ichigo are needed on the battlefield. I'm amazed that so many could attend to the meeting, but when the risk of the Maker somehow interfering with our lives once more it's something that should be taken very seriously.

I sit down by the other end of the table directly across from Taro, a position that should only be taken if the meeting is called regarding that specific person or if that person has important info regarding the meetings topic. I've never sat in this seat before… I glance over towards my mother to try and find some form of comfort, uncertain and tense in my current predicament as I've never been in the centre of any of our family meetings before. She gives me a slightly tense smile and nods in approval as if I'm doing the right thing to sit where my elders are usually sitting, I can see her arms tense with her hands hidden from view underneath the table. She must be worried for me, understandably so since I'm worried about me too.

When I focus on Taro, I don't see the uncle that I'm so used to speak to and share experiences with; instead of Taro's neon green eyes being warm and inviting, they are the steady and serious gaze of our clan head with Yohio sitting to his right as the successor to his position. After about a minute of tense silence where all of us are waiting for Taro to start the meeting, he straightens up in his chair and activates a seal on the dining room table; a seal that won't allow any noise or movement to exit this house and render all of us invisible to chakra, smell, hearing and any other kind of spying method the ninja world has come up with. It's a seal that Shiro-sama himself created for when the family will discuss sensitive information that cannot leave the room, information that could end up being either world changing or a topic that none other than Masago would understand. Not even the byakugan can see through our special made seal, Shiro-sama made sure to test it out from what I've heard.

"To announce once more why this meeting was called forth, there is a high suspicion that the Maker is affecting Mios powers for reasons unknown to us. The fact that our Maker feels the need to affect our world once more is very worrying, added to the fact that Mio was the catalyst the last time it changed as well. Mio, if you would like to explain the situation with your powers."

I nod towards Taro as I'm given permission to speak and watch my family member's expressions after his brief interlude; to try and discern what they're thinking. I only manage to gather that they're worried and serious about all of this as I'm not the kind of person who can easily understand people's emotions.

The greatest changes the Maker has done to our clan is first: creating Shiro-sama to live in this world. Taking a person's dying soul and thrusting it into another body with their memories intact is something that should be impossible, yet the Maker did it. Not only that but into a world that the old soul _knows of_ and doing it again for other people. Giving us the gamer power was part of creating Shiro-sama as well as creating Resets.

The second time: When we got the ability to control saves and redo what we did wrong. Shiro-sama didn't have the save power from the very start but he got it later during his youth. The same goes for the gamer shop as the pause menu was created later on because the Maker was developing their system.

The third time: making later generations of gamers regeneration abilities decline. For each generation of gamers the regeneration time needed to recover from a lethal wound takes twice as long. We can't die from poison due to our gamers body but the recovery rate from the poison symptoms are less effective for each generation. If Shiro-sama as the first generation had been affected by the same poison as I did he'd have recovered much faster from it than I. About 4 times as fast since I'm the fourth generation. Our effectiveness in status element recovery is reduced by half for each generation but since the fourth generation needs 8 hours to fully recover, which is a full night sleep, I doubt the Maker would be cruel enough to have halved the efficiency of healing once more.

Fourth time: gave the clan head exclusive powers over other Masago. Once Shiro-samas children were born he received these abilities that he could pass onto the next person. I don't know exactly what those abilities entail but it's something only the clan head should know anyways.

The fifth time: changing our EXP gaining system. Before my ID power was created all Masago leveled up by doing missions, minor and major alike. They had no other alternative way to gather EXP and it worked out well. When my ID was created the required EXP for leveling up increased by a lot and the EXP gain for missions changed in turn to accommodate the sudden change. It was to balance out our powers so we wouldn't become a god only by a few nights hunting, I understand this and it's an accepted change.

So this is the sixth or seventh time the Maker changes the rules of our world as there might be changes I haven't been informed of beforehand or minor changes we haven't recorded. So this is indeed a very serious matter to everyone in the clan, not only me.

"Thank you Taro-san… As you all know I have the ability to create an alternate dimension where monsters roam, monsters that we can hunt and kill for EXP and items that we can use. About half a month ago after we had properly explored the Ogre ID to assure it's a safe hunting zone, I decided to enter the space myself."

When I say this I get a stern glare from all of my family members, especially my mother as they've all told me to not enter the ID alone recklessly since the very beginning. Taro and Yohio knew of my decision to enter previous to this meeting so at least the two of them aren't glaring at me for my stupid decision. I hold up a hand to try and dissuade their anger that I went against their wishes, an uneasy smile on my face while I lean back in my chair.

"Yes I realize it was the wrong thing to do now, but then I thought I knew what my limits were and I knew I could handle one of the low level Ogres on my own without needing backup. Anyhow, I entered the ID like I usually do and without me realizing it at first, a lot had changed from the moment I entered."

I place my right hand on the table, tapping twice on the wooden surface on a small groove in the wood with chakra on my fingertip; this activates a seal mechanism and a small panel in front of me moves to the side to show a glass surface underneath. It's something I've seen grandpa Katsuo do before when he wanted to show the family a hologram of how he thinks the war forces would move, so I decide to use it myself to properly show how different the enemies have become. It's still a bit new to me, but I know enough of the concept that it shouldn't be too hard to use.

I place my hand on the glass and transfer some of my chakra into it to activate the hologram seal; a panel in the middle of the table open up in response to my chakra and a circular glass panel is shown underneath. Streams of light flare up from the glass panel as it's coloured blue due to my chakra's colour and I know that I can now freely control the image that is shown within the visible stream of chakra. Shiro-sama was truly a genius when it came to creating seals that could correspond to our prior lives technology.

I start to paint out the original Ogres with my mind's eye, the large creature appearing inside the blue light of my chakra made hologram in response to my mental picture. It's so fucking cool, I really wish Shiro-sama was alive to teach me more fuinjutsu so I could create something like this too. I have a lot of ideas but without a teacher, I can't make them even if I know all the theory behind it. All of my present family members look towards the ogre hologram, a version of the monster that most of them have seen due to our usual family hunting. The CP cost is taxing but nothing I can't handle with my passive skills that decrease CP usage and increase it's regeneration rate.

"The normal creatures of that world were large and slow heavy hitters, dumb and driven by natural instincts. Their sheer size was tall enough that I could see them over the buildings within Suna and easily find the weakest ogre among them. However, when I entered on my own I couldn't see them at all. That's because they changed drastically."

I take this que to create a projection of the current Ogres, Japanese attire and human psyche with horns on their forehead. The two ogre versions are standing side by side and the old version of the ogre is easily towering over the current one, I let the Hologram spin the figures around slowly so my family can see the Ogres on all sides.

"This is the current Ogres? They look a lot less primal for sure."

I nod in agreement to Chiyoko's words, glancing towards her as I'm still upholding the two images side by side. Everyone in my family have much higher Intelligence and Wisdom stats than I do so I'm certain that they can come to conclusions that I can't.

"They are. They are a lot more similar to skilled ninjas than beasts that my IDs are creating to inhabit. They have clothes, Kenjutsu skills, ninjitsu and are even speaking in their own language. It's like these prior Ogres have shrunk and condensed, getting more focused on their skills and thus beyond the level that I can handle now. They are able to suppress their chakra enough that I had no way of finding them due to the density of nature chakra in that world."

I change the hologram to show them a countdown from 30 minutes, the clock ticking slowly in time with the seconds on my digital watch on the bottom corner of my vision. This makes Everyone in the room tense up; since countdowns among Masago are never a good thing to have, no matter what it's for.

"Not only that but I was unable to use my ID escape ability until after 30 minutes had passed. I have never had to worry about a minimum time limit I need to be inside the ID before I can escape and I was barely able to get away with my life intact. This change is too sudden and too on point for it to be anything else than the Maker's doing, it happened the very same night I decided to enter the ID on a whim."

As I've explained my part, I let the chakra hologram fizzle out and pull back my hand from the glass plate. I tap the table twice once more and sit back in my chair while looking over my family members faces; I've showed them what I wanted so the hologram isn't needed anymore. I don't know what else to say either, I've told them everything I know and I'm not sure if I can add anything more to that. Taro nods towards me and then turns to my grandparents, who are all looking deep in thought over my explanation.

"Thoughts..?"

Masami, Jirio's wife, look towards Taro first with a frown on her wrinkly face, her white hair tied up into a firm bun and is wearing a pretty yet comfortable yukata to this meeting. Most of us are dressed in ninja gear but my grandparents chose to dress nicely for the tense occasion.

"This is definitely the Maker's doing, the sudden change to her power cannot be a coincidence. The question is _why_ she specifically was targeted. Why not when the rest of our family were hunting within the ogre ID as well?"

"Yes that's something I'm worried about as well… Have you noticed any other changes, Mio?"

Daisuke asks me, his stern yet worried deep brown eyes gazing into my own. I shake my head, idly noticing that Daisuke still has some mud in his curly blonde hair that's usually tied into a short ponytail; he must've recently come home then…

"Nothing as far as I've noticed. My stats are intact, my skills and abilities are as well. The only thing that's out of the norm is how much trouble we run into during missions."

"Is this true?"

Aiko is quick to ask her brother, her hair almost whip lashing my mother who is sitting next to her due to its current length. Yohio nods and looks over our family members who are present, leaning forward slightly as he speaks with purpose similar to Taro. He's going to be a great clan leader once it's time for him to take over..,

"Yes, but the trouble during missions have been present since the very beginning. I've run many missions before I became a teacher and it's as if every mission Mio is a part of is bound to get some kind of interruption. When she was taken by Iwa and we ran missions on our own we didn't get any interruptions like we usually do…"

The tense silence in the room grows even heavier at Yohios revelation and I can't help but look around in confusion as Daisuke and Chiyoko, especially, exchange nervous glances with Taro and me. It seems like they just realized something, but I have no idea what that could be… Aiko and the twins are wearing similar expressions on their faces as the other adults, so what am I missing?

"Mio, did you do something special before running on your first mission?"

Sho asks me suddenly as he hastily stand up from his chair, the legs scraping against the floor while he's looking at me with worry in his eyes. I look between Sho and all of my family's nervous expressions, getting nervous myself since all of them are with no clue as to why. Something special before my first mission, there was one thing I did that was special.

"I guess I did… I activated my first two SSP powers before we went on our first mission, it was my own way of preparing myself for what's to come."

"What can that SSP power do?"

Setsuko asks softly, placing a hand on her twins shoulder to guide him back down into his seat. What is it that everyone has understood that I'm still clueless about? I can feel someone's hand grasp onto mine, making me glance over to Yuuto who's sitting beside me. He is wearing a nervous frown on his face and brown eyes sharp as he's gazing at me. What is it…? Does Yuuto see it too?

"I-... there are two of them as a pair. One lets me use only 95% of the required chakra cost for jutsu with an increased 200% in power. The other lets my chakra regenerate 600% faster than it usually would; they're passive abilities-"

I get cut off when Chiyoko slam her fist hard into the table with a loud bang, her blue eyes glaring hard at Taro and my grandparents as if she's demanding an answer. Her chair clatters to the floor when she stood up in her rage, her whole body tense as if she's ready to punch something. I guess I got part of my temper from somewhere in my family if she reacts like that. But what the hell is going _on_? Yuuto lightly tighten his grip on my hand, most likely equally nervous or doing it as a way to comfort me; I'm not sure which it is but I'm glad to know that my almost brother is supporting me in this tense atmosphere.

"This is bullshit! Absolutely unheard of! Why would the Maker target one person of our clan? It doesn't make sense! We've been able to receive these kind of powerful abilities for decades so why would they start to care now?!"

"Chiyoko, I didn't raise you to speak out of tone like that. Behave and sit _down_."

Jirio says, glaring at his daughter with his arms crossed sternly. The tense atmosphere only continues to grow thicker as the other members of my family are understanding something I'm not, my mother covering her mouth with her hand in horror and Yohio clenching his hands to the point they're turning white. I try to think of what I've said thus far to bring up my own conclusion, but I can't come up with a reason for the Maker to do this. What is it that they're all so nervous over? What am I missing?

"Father, how can you be so calm about this?! If the Maker is-she won't be able to live a life without constantly looking over her shoulder! Not even Shiro-sama got that kind of punishment and he was the strongest out of all of us! Neither Taro or Yohio have gotten repercussions for their skills either-!"

"Chiyoko-"

"I'm fucking pissed off!"

Chiyoko cut Taro off with a snarl, something _no one_ should do during a clan meeting but my aunt doesn't see to care as she simply snarls angrily at him. Taro is taking this interruption calmly, only narrowing his eyes slightly as he's staring Chiyoko sternly.

"Why should the youngest have to suffer through the worst shit this family has gotten since we were created?! It's far from fair!"

"There's nothing we can do about it. Sit. _Down_."

All of us at the table shiver slightly at the power behind Taros words when he gives Chiyoko this command; I lightly bite my lip when memories of Taros first and last order he gave me comes to mind, in the zombie ID. It still gives me the chills whenever I think about it.

Chiyoko slowly picks up her chair and sits down once more, the anger deflating from her form as she's now leaning forward with her dark green hair covering her expression from view. When I think about what Chiyoko yelled out a little more, an icy pit is slowly forming in my stomach as I draw my own conclusion to the strange events revolving around me. It can't be the truth though, right…?

"Is the Maker… _angry_ with me? That I changed their EXP system, I made my CP usage and recovery more effective than anyone else in this world- did they send _Iwa_ after me? Is that what you're saying? Is the Maker, our god, actively trying to interfere with my life?!"

I can feel Yuutos hand tremble slightly in my grip and the heavy silence enveloping the room is the only answer I need. I can feel myself get dizzy from the knowledge of it, leaning back in my seat as I cover my forehead with my free hand. The Maker was planning it all along, the kidnapping with Iwa I mean. They _wanted_ me to either die or worse, be taken to their military camp. But I don't understand, why would the Maker _do_ such a thing when I've only been following the rules of the power they've given me?! _How_ could they influence my enemies to kidnap me?

"As long as you have your safe files, you'll be fine Mio. Just- Just continue to work hard and get stronger, ok?"

I can hear the slight tremble in my mother's voice as she tries to encourage me, making me look over towards her with my eyes still wide in shock. I can see the tears in her eyes, the light tremble in her body but despite all of that she believes in me; putting a smile on her face and encourages me from the sidelines just like she's always done. I get a bit more at ease when I look at my mother, a small broken smile of my own finding its way to my face in response. I'm always touched by how deep her love is towards me, her and father both. I'm so thankful I have my family...

"Mom…"

"Mio, please look through your main system and see if your saves are still there."

I turn towards Taro, frowning at his serious neon green gaze but slowly nod at his request. I open the main menu with a soft command, letting the world fade to white as I enter the separate pocket in my mind. With the wave of my hand the white background disappears and I can once again see the tense expressions on my family members, only my body doesn't move when I'm inside the main menu.

I do as Taro requested and look at the save button first to see if I can still save. There are thin dark red lines moving slowly across it, barely visible due to my red tinted menu. I frown in confusion when I see this, slowly reaching out to try and touch the button. But when I touch it, nothing happens when it would've opened my save menu.

I try it again and again, the icy pit in my stomach only growing as I continue to not get the option to save my progress. And knowing that my body will still speak outside this space if I let it, I speak up into the main menu space.

"It's impossible… I can't- I can't save."

I can see the majority of my family members pale when they hear this, my mother once again covering her mouth as she's staring at me in pure horror. Or rather my body as its sitting calmly in the chair whilst I'm inside the main menu. I manage to enter my load files but all my previously filled save slots are now empty with similar red lines moving across them, all saves stated as empty even the automatic save we have whenever we fall asleep. My finger is trembling slightly when I reach out to try and touch the screen, feeling the finger connect but nothing happens when I do. I press it a few more times, not sure what kind of expression I'm wearing on my face as I continue to try again and again to use the main surviving system for us Masago, one of the reasons we're feared and acknowledged on the battlefield.

"It's not there… it's not here, none of my saves are here. I'm completely- I'm completely blocked!"

I flinch backwards when my last try to reach my saves results in a large, dark red window to appear before me. Darker than my menu colour but I know that this window is part of the system, I know it as I've seen it somewhere a long time ago. There's a large blinking line at the top left of the window as if there is someone who will write a text message to me, making me take a few steps back within my mind so I can see the window clearer. It's the Maker… they want to speak directly to me?

"It's the Maker… they're here."

I can see Taro stand up in his chair through the faint incorporeal window the Maker has created, his hands braced against the table as he moves his mouth to speak with me. Where I normally would be able to hear him when I've let my mind keep its connection with my real body, I can see his lips move but I hear no sound from my surroundings. I can see Yuuto grab onto my shoulder but I don't feel it, I _should_ feel it if I'm still connected. And since I can't hear or feel the outside world, I highly doubt I'd be able to leave now when the Maker is here to grab my attention…

I hear are the slow tapping of a large keyboard as the Maker slowly spells out something to me on the large window they've created, writing in English as it usually does but it's easy to translate it all into Japanese for my family. Once they finished typing and I've quickly translated it in my head, I swallow heavily and read the message out loud for everyone to hear. This… this is not good, not good at all, far from good. I do my best to keep my voice steady and calm, my family growing still when they hear me speak for the Maker.

"This child has cheated the system, and you have all participated in exploiting this cheat. So seeing as you no longer work within the system, you lose some rights to it, and her more than the rest of you. Should you succeed in keeping your clan alive in the coming two decades, all your privileges will be restored. Rejoice that I am gracious enough to offer this second chance, despite your grievous trespass. May all of you struggle to prosper and know that in the end you wronged me, not that I am wronging you."

When I finish reading the message out loud, the window disappears from my sight so I can see the pale and worried faces of my family much clearer. I still can't feel Yuuto's hand on my shoulder so for now I'm only waiting until the Maker will let me out. However, rather than opening the door for me so I can use my powers as I usually can, I can feel a strong force push against my entire being. The maker forcefully stuff my mind back into my body, a sensation I never want to experience again as I can feel my mind somehow get slammed against a wall. Something that shouldn't make sense since my mind doesn't have a physical form, there are no walls within my own mind. But as if I'm trapped in some kind of twisted genjutsu filled with red and white colours, my mind get forcefully shoved against the wall one.. two.. three times before I break through.

A great fire of pain is spreading through my whole being when I find myself back into my physical body, every part of my body revolting against me as skin, organs, muscles are screaming and seizing up in pain. I'm gasping for breath as if I've run a marathon in my past life, heart beating like crazy and my vision blurring and mixing every visual input together like a large blurry mass of colours while I'm trying to find enough breath to scream out the pure _agony_ I'm experiencing. This is even worse than dying please make it stop, make it stop, make it _stop_!

I quickly cover my mouth when I feel like I'm about to puke, leaning forward and collapsing against the cold, hard surface of our dinner table while I wrap my other arm around my middle when it feels like I'm being torn apart from inside. Make it stop, please! I can feel something warm and wet slide down along my hand and arm that's covering my mouth, unsure if it's bile or snot at this point or if it's some other body fluids it just wants to get rid of. The Maker has mentally attacked me and I have no idea what to do to fix this; everything _hurts so bad_. Without knowing why or when they appeared, I suddenly have warm hands grabbing my arms and shoulders, over my head and eyes as my vision is still a complete mess. The hands are really, really warm, to the point of burning me just like the fiery pain within my very core. Before I can register anything else, I black out into a dark comfortable bliss where I can't feel the pain and suffering I was going through.

Later when I wake up at the hospital, I found out that it wasn't just a bad dream. The meeting happened, the Maker confirmed our fears, spoke to me and proceeded to cause me a serious head trauma in the process to prove a point. To prove that they can interfere with our lives whenever they want to unless we play the game by their rules and amuse them with our struggling in the ninja world.

Without anyone knowing what to do to remove me from the watchful eye of our Maker as some kind of test project, I set my mind onto one thing and one thing only. I'll activate an expensive SSP skill; an SSP skill so strong that I'll be able to destroy all difficult challenges the Maker can possibly throw my way. Because if Aiko's kid, that she'll eventually have with her boyfriend it's only a matter of time, get the same kind of non save set back as I have, I'd never be able to forgive myself.

I'll just have to make sure that I'll be strong enough so I can't be killed by _anyone_.

* * *

Here is the meeting that was only waiting to happen and I'm very content with how this turned out. Once more the Gamer's mind helped Mio steel her resolve after a hard slap to the face by reality. I'm sorry if I unnerved anyone by the sudden pain describing bomb, I didn't want to spoil the ending of the chapter by putting a warning at the start of the chapter.

The SSP skill that she'll choose is already decided and it will be the signature power move that Mio will use throughout the rest of the story. You'll see next chapter which one she's chosen and what it does~. I'll do my best to work on it in between assignments and homework but I can't promise that it'll be done for Saturday.

 **This chapter's question:** Just for fun; which country do you suspect Mio comes from? (all Resets come from different countries in their old life which hasn't been shown yet.)

 **Review replies**

 **EmikoTsubasa bunnydragon:** You mean an endless supply of water? sure, got it! ^^ Only Resets can use powers from different media they've come in contact with in their past life and it's only Mio who has powers from Anime specifically. I appreciate your suggestion but I've already dismissed Sword Art Online since I personally don't like the show and I don't see any useful abilities in it that can be used. But again, thank you for your suggestion.

 **prisontaker:** Oooh that does sound very useful... A weapon that improves with its user. Given that it has special abilities and powers of its own she would be able to infuse it with her chakra without the risk that it'd break from the strain. And if it's themed after the user she wouldn't get a random blade either but still keep it as a Tonfa and Bo-staff combo. That's an _amazing_ suggestion, thank you! I'll definitely have to check it out. I'm truly blessed to have you give me such wonderful suggestions, you've expanded my possible list of last anime by a _lot_! Thank you! ^^

When I read this I immediately got reminded by the gamer ability to do this and implemented it into the story. Mio won't ever be able to use it, and I doubt it'll ever be used, but it's there and I can use it if I want to. X3 Thank you!

That does seem very useful, I won't lie, but it doesn't feel like something Mio would be willing to use. The fact that you'd need to cut the threads typically mean you need a sword and a kunai, something Mio prefers to not use. It also seems a bit too OP in a world of ninjas, imagine an assassination mission finished without ever touching the target, just cutting the red lines. Thanks for the suggestion but I don't think that specific power would work...

I'm very glad you're enjoying the story. And I'm super thankful that you're reviewing and helping me with anime powers! X3 And I see, but I don't think I'll use Ki anyway, it's a bit too similar to chakra so...

 **cupcake:** Thank you very much! ^^ I'm glad to see that you still enjoy it. And mic or hover board seals, gotcha. Thank you!

 **lolthisisjefff:** I see I see, yes Bee is a very great character. X3

Alright! ^^ Thank you.

True true.

Stealing life span, I hadn't thought of that. Though the death note can't be considered as anything else than one ability, I'm afraid. But thank you for the suggestion.


	23. Power and responsibility

Hi! Sorry for the delay but school has been really hard on me now before summer. But I FINALLY got time enough to look through the last bit of the chapter now when my group project is done. Now I only have two exams, one presentation and an assignment left to write... pray for me. :'D

But yeah in this chapter she'll chose her new power! And confront the ogres with her family! Important part of the story and I hope you'll all like it. I'll do my best to get another chapter done the week after the next, next week is my exams so I doubt I'll get much done then... But yeah enjoy!

* * *

 **Power and responsibility**

I'm looking over my SSP skills while sitting alone in my room, a bunch of SSP scrolls gathered around me that I still haven't used. I'll be able to have a total of 63 SSP once I've used all scrolls, which will definitely be enough to acquire a high level skill that will help me grow and stay alive. Now when I know I have no backup plan, no saves that can pull me back like the rest of my family, I need to be strong enough so I will still be able to reach my goal without the fear of dying looming over me. Because of the maker I'm a normal ninja with one life… And the time limit is set to after the fourth shinobi war, if it happens, so I won't be able to get back my save ability before the war if it breaks out. I can only hope the next generation won't be affected by my presence…

Just now I managed to unlock the last ability of My hero academia, which is the SSP skill that cost 50 points. Today around 6 in the morning I, along with a few family members, will enter the Ogre ID to see if they really are sentient. And if they are we will decide what we should do with them, as it would feel unethical to kill them for EXP if they have their own lives and culture. I doubt we'd interact with them more if that were the case, at the brief confrontation I had with the ogres they seemed much more primitive than we are in our dimension. But I can't say that for certain.

As I'm weighing my choices, I'm tapping my chin in thought; dressed in my usual casual ninja gear to be ready for departure as it's only a few minutes before we need to leave. Choice number one, Benehime. It'd let me create powerful energy waves that can hurt my enemies both up close and at a distance.

It has a number of skills listed that you can use but it clearly states that you need training to use it effectively; with my time space ID I can manage to master it within a day but I'm uncertain if I have that amount of time since I need it _now_. The other thing is that it's from the bleach universe, which is a universe where they use swords as their main weapon. Does this mean I need to equip a sword to use the Benehime ability? Doubtful since I can use Wabisuke, but it's still something that's bothering me.

Second ability is called Crush, or Crash whichever you'd like to call it. It says Crush but I called it Crash in my past life, that's beside the point though. It'd let me crush everything and anything that's in my way, rearranging landscapes could be possible and it'd increase my strength by a lot with the pure physical force behind this ability. I could even disassemble jutsus to have them disappear and split people into miniature versions of themselves.

In Fairy tail the single user of Crush magic was so powerful that he could unknowingly destroy his surroundings, which means it has a serious backlash when it comes to control. I'm confident in my ability to control my chakra but if this Crash ability overrides my control somehow it might make my daily life much difficult to go through if I continue to destroy stuff I don't mean to destroy. The raw destruction it could cause would be good in many ways, including how it would work with my way of combat, but since the drawback is hard to control it makes me uncertain.

The third and final ability that I unlocked only an hour or so ago is Overhaul, it works differently than crash but would have a similar effect. I'd be able to disassemble and reassemble any matter _however I want_ without any limitations to what I could fuse and disassemble. I could do this to humans too, basically healing them or killing them with only a touch with my hand.

I'm not sure if you'd need knowledge of the different elements you're working with or knowledge about the human body for this power to work correctly. If I remember right, the villain in My Hero Academia who used this power is a doctor with a vast knowledge about diseases and the human body. If knowledge is the key to using it, it'd be a major setback for me as I have no interest in learning about the human body nor what elements exist in the world and how they would react to each other. I use more of a direct approach in combat, rushing into the fray headfirst rather than coming up with a plan. Sure, I am able to plan ahead but I prefer action rather than waiting for something to happen.

I pick up an SSP scroll containing 5 SSP, use it and add 5 to my current points as I continue to think; doing the same with the rest of my scrolls. As these three abilities are the most expensive ones, they're insanely powerful like they should be. But they have just as many perks as they have drawbacks and uncertainties which is, again, understandable because they're some of the most powerful abilities I can receive. Considering that the Maker is watching over my shoulder constantly, I can't think that these abilities don't have some kind of drawback just to make my life miserable. Because as both Taro and Yohio have told me, the most powerful SSP abilities have the worst side effects on the user.

If Taro were to use his Bar 10 power from a book he's read from a past life, which he's described as being able to use any kind of telepathic ability imaginable, he would be unable to move for 12 hours after the ability is cancelled. And while the ability is active, his body is steadily experiencing more and more pain that he needs to endure until he's finished. The Bar 10 ability is insanely powerful though, if I'm supposed to believe Taro, so he only uses it in an absolute crisis.

Yohio has only one high level ability so far and apparently it's one that let him use the powers from a game called Prototype, one that I remember seeing my little brother play in my past life. It'd let him _consume_ people to receive their memories and appearance, create weapons from his bare skin and use tendrils of black stuff to gain crazy strength and agility. His setback though is that he loses his mind as he's using it, the gamer's mind unable to help him while he's descending to madness when it's active. He's only used it two times so far, apparently in my Zombie ID without me noticing, and when it's deactivated he returns to his old self, but he did confess that it got harder to deactivate it the second time.

So if Taros setback was physical and Yohio's setback was mental, which setback would I receive depending on the ability I'd choose? I can't say for sure until I receive it but it does make me a little worried. Would Benehime make me hear whispers of that living sword in the anime? Would Crush break my bones and body when I use it? Would Overhaul make my mind degrade and get a god complex as I gain power over pure matter?

I don't _know_. And that unnerves me more than anything...

As I've now used up all scrolls, I take a deep breath when I look at my current SSP points; It's 63 like I thought it would be. Now I have no SSP scrolls left and no more excuses to prolong my choice; I need to choose an ability before we go and meet the ogres.

Weighing the pros and cons one last time, I finally let my finger over a button of the ability I'll choose. It feels most fitting to my fighting style, it is the only choice I'd feel most comfortable to choose. With the possible setback still in the back of my mind, I firmly press on the button to buy the Crush ability, pressing another confirmation button and ignoring the text that appeared. From what little I read before I confirmed, it said that it'd put a strain on me.

But I _need_ it…

The reaction to accepting the ability is immediate, my chakra gives out a large _pulse_ ; causing me to immediately pull the chakra tightly into my chest in response. The bed gives out from under me at the pulse of chakra however, breaking apart with a loud crack sound right where I'm sitting and making me fall over in surprise. My chakra feel suddenly erratic and alive in a way I can't properly explain, the chakra in my chest struggling to break out from my mental hold as if it wants to do something.

Sadly, due to falling over, a bit of my concentration slips and causes another wave of the erratic chakra to burst from me before I can get it under control once more. This other wave of chakra breaks apart my bed even further and even reaches the sand clay floor underneath, causing it to cave in and crumble underneath me. I let out a surprised shout when I am suddenly falling down through the hole, my body reacting on instinct as I twist in the air to land on my feet on the story below. I flinch when a piece of wood fall on top of my head, most likely from my bed, and as I'm nursing it I can hear my mother running on the top floor to see what's going on.

"M-Mio!? What happened!?"

I look up through the hole in my floor and spot my mother looking down at me with worry plain in her hair is still tied up in the messy bun she usually wears when she goes to sleep as I've most likely woken her up with that crash. I can feel that the new version of my chakra is still uneasy so I quickly hold up my hand towards her, with chakra for my ID gathering in my hand.

"L-Later! Create ID: time lapse!"

With a low sounding 'doom' my mother disappears before me as well as the hole I made in my floor. The moment I'm able to see the timer indicating when I can exit the ID, I let go of my chakra.

As I'm standing crouched in the middle of the hallway, the ground crack loudly under my feet and the ground collapse in a perfect circle around me; creating a crater which I now reside in. If I wasn't already crouching I'd stumble at the pure force my chakra is letting out, bracing my hands against the ground as I'm watching the walls around me crumble in reaction to the power I've just received. I quickly shift my weight when I see the crack in the walls reach the roof, causing it to crumble in huge chunks to fall down on top of me. I know the basics of this power, so I hold out my hands above me to catch the large piece of clay; I watch in awe as my chakra burst forth right before the piece of rubble can touch my hand, completely _obliterating_ the debris that was about to fall on top of me.

Holy fucking _shit_...

Determined to let the Crash chakra run its first course so it won't cause a problem for me once I return to my dimension; I let out a loud scream while pouring more chakra into this ability, letting a white glow cover my body as the walls are trembling around me. I can feel how my muscles are aching from the pure force of my chakra but I ignore it and punch the wall next to me as hard as I can. With the crash chakra surrounding my fist, the ability bursts forward in an explosion of force, blowing out the wall and the shock-wave of the power even causes the house next to mine to crumble as well. I knew this power had great destructive force but I never imagined that it'd be _this_ powerful.

I can hear my house shaking and I quickly jump out through the hole I made, just in time to hear the house crumble into pieces behind me. I cut off the flow of chakra as I look back, my body trembling slightly from the soreness in my muscles and just stare at the huge pile of rubble I created from _unintentionally_ destroying my house. Now I'm really glad that I went into the ID, my mother wouldn't have been happy with me if I destroyed the entire house first thing in the morning.

I frown slightly as I look down at my hands, limbs still trembling slightly as my chakra is starting to calm down. The initial activation of the ability made my chakra go haywire but now that it's been released it's much easier to control. I glance towards my CP, noting that it's slowly being reduced but at a very slow pace; the punch I performed earlier took 250 CP and there's a constant drain of 0,25 CP per second. Which means this Crush ability is constantly active…

I sigh softly and cover my face, letting myself rest a bit as I'm thinking this over; if Crush is constantly active I'll always have to be careful how I use it… No wonder they went to such great lengths to make it easy for Gildarts to walk around, if he had this on constantly without even trying to reign it in he would've destroyed everything that surrounded him like I just did. but 0,25 CP per second, that means its a 15 CP drain every minute. All abilities have either activation cost or prolonged CP/minute cost and with my ability to lower the cost of CP by 95% it makes me able to use my abilities far longer and more often than a normal child my age.

If this Crush magic drains 15 CP per minute for me that would bring it up to 300 CP every minute if I didn't have my passive ability. And 5000 CP cost for punching the wall and collapsing the building… I'm very glad that I have my passive ability, if I'd used the usual CP cost I might've died from complete chakra depletion. I let out a soft sigh and stand up, holding onto my chakra tightly so it won't go astray without my say-so and clench my fists in determination. I have about 27 minutes until I can leave this place and about another hour with this time ratio until I need to meet Taro. This will give me enough time to look through the listed abilities connected to Crush, practice them and get a better understanding of my newfound strength. The physical strain on my muscles is a little worrying but I have plenty of healing potions on hand, I can use them whenever I need to.

I nod slightly to myself and look out over the empty and deserted clan compound within my ID; I can't let this ability run amok within the village and possibly destroy things I don't want to destroy. I need to learn my limitations as soon as possible so I can control it better, I need this to survive and prosper. Taking a deep breath, I focus on my chakra to try and sense which part of it has the destructive power of Crush and which is normal chakra that I can use. But all of my chakra have the crush affinity to it…

I try to use a fire jutsu and it reacts just as usual, shifting into fire element chakra and responds to my hand seals like always. So nothing has changed with it; except _everything_ has changed with it. This will take some time to get used to…

* * *

I exit my ID in the center of our clan compound, having spent two hours in there getting used to this new ability I've received which means 4 minutes has passed in the real world. I'm keeping a close eye on my chakra to make sure it's not going to act out on its own as I still need a bit more time to get used to it. I look over towards my house, noticing that my mother and those I'll enter the ID with are all in there already, most likely due to the commotion I unwillingly caused earlier. It's 5,46 right now so I accidentally woke them up 15 minutes early because I couldn't think far enough to accept my new ability inside my ID…

When I enter the house and announce my presence, my mother immediately rushes towards the door. Without any warning and with anger burning in her usually warm brown eyes, she pinches my cheek _really_ hard and proceed to _drag_ me towards the living room. I let out loud and painful complains as she's dragging me along; since I had severe muscle pain during my training with the Crush ability, being immediately pinched by my mother is far from something I'd enjoy.

she proceed to scold me loudly for my reckless behavior, especially since I made a _hole_ in my room. Scolding me in front of my uncle, aunt and cousin is far from fair so I can't talk back unless I want to be seen as a spoiled brat to the others. I do try to defend myself by saying it was because of my SPP 50 ability but mother scolds me even _louder_ when I say that, since I've clearly gotten a warning from those abilities side effects by both Taro and Yohio. Since they are both present in the room, the two of them also reprimand me for my carelessness; three against one while Chiyako isn't doing anything to help my case, only watching the display in amusement.

After I've apologized enough times, feeling guilty that I made my mother worry enough to be so angry once I returned, my beautiful dark haired mother glare at me for a few moments longer before she lets out a loud sigh and covers her face with one of her hands in defeat. Has she calmed down now…?

"Why does it always end up being _thinking ahead_ that's the problem? You either think too far or think too little, be more careful Mio, please."

I'm not sure what to say to her plea, giving her a slight nod and directing my gaze towards the floor awkwardly. I mumble a soft reply that I'll try, feeling even more ashamed for my actions than before. It's sometimes so much to think _about_ that I forget what's right ahead of me, it's an honest mistake. She makes it sound like I do it all the time but I'm sure it doesn't happen that often. Or at least I don't think it has, I'm not that good at thinking overall; having high INT and high WIS doesn't mean you have to use your head often, just means that I'm good at it when I actually use it. Okay that makes me sound like a no brainer brute, which I'm _not_ , but it's just easier not to think about too much at once. I've got a lot on my plate here!

I'm brought out from my inner musings when a warm hand is placed on top of my head, soon followed by a pair of arms wrapping around me in a loving embrace. I automatically lean into it, closing my eyes as I feel the familiar scent of chamomile and sand from my mother and hug her in return. I mumble another apology for destroying my room to which mother only let out a soft laugh.

"I know you're sorry, dear… Just a little more warning next time. I know you're a grown woman but you'll _always_ be my little girl who I care for very much."

"Thanks mom…"

I smile slightly and nuzzle her, pulling away from her hug with a wide smile. Sometimes I think my parents forgive my mistakes too easily, but I can always count myself lucky to have them by my side. A happy buzz of chakra flutter in my chest when my mother gently places a kiss on my forehead before she stands up and I turn towards the rest of our family with a wide grin. I'm truly, truly blessed to have these people.

"So! You all ready to kick some ogre butt and find out their secrets?"

"There won't be any need for killing if it goes the way I want it to but yes, we're ready."

Taro says evenly, standing up from the couch along with his green haired sister and her son. Chiyoko let out a small snort and grin down at me, an amused glint in her eyes as she was enjoying me getting yelled at.

"Good that she's not all cuddles and hugs with you, now I know it's _you_ who don't listen well. Use your head more often, brat."

I let out an offended huff and glare hard at Choyoko's rude comment, knowing that it's all in good humor though, since that's her type of insult humor, I stick out my tongue towards her in retaliation. I'm glad that my chakra isn't acting up in anger over her comment, I'm sure that I'd have it harder to control my new crash chakra if I became angry at someone… And I'd prefer to not accidentally destroy something. I look over Chiyoko, Taro and Yohio, crossing my arms and keeping my back straight. I'm glad I dressed in my ninja gear and bo staff beforehand, it'd suck if I was standing here in pajamas and had to make them wait for me to change clothes.

"Well, it's 6 now, we might as well go. I've managed to get the gist of my ability already so I'm ready for it."

Taro looks towards Chiyoko, to which she nods in return at the silent question, a question that I can't pick up on or understand. Taro turns towards me with a smile and a nod of his own, stepping over towards me and places a hand on top of my head.

"Sounds good, we'll be back soon Hanami. Chiyo, Yohio."

He calls out to the other two to which they also step forward and they each place a hand on my shoulders. I turn and give a final smile towards my mother, waving to her slightly as a goodbye before I raise my hand towards the sky to activate my ability. After the words have left my lips and the world has shifted, the three adults let go of me to inspect their surroundings even if we're still inside a building. Chiyoko lets out a curious hum, one of her hands resting on her hips close to one of her bladed fans; possibly just in case she needs it.

"You weren't kidding when you said this was dense, this is worse than in Hi no kuni."

"But you can still find them, mom?"

Chiyoko let out a soft snort and grin towards Yohio, ruffling his spiky hair to make it even more messy. Since he's used to this poor treatment of his hair, he doesn't fight the action but only look at his mother with a blank look on his face. Since he's 15 now, he's starting to get closer to Chiyoko's height; but she still treats him like he's a small boy.

"Don't sound so serious Yohio, of course I'll find them! I'm not the best for nothing."

The four of us stealthily leave the house, all of us on edge and looking around for any kind of threat as Chiyoko is getting a better feel for our surroundings. After about a minute of standing around in the shadows of the trees surrounding our compound, The green haired woman of our group motions us forward and takes the lead while we're quickly ghosting through the city. I am extremely curious how she's able to look through the nature chakra due to its density, but this isn't the time to be asking her for pointers in sensing.

I glance towards Taro, knowing that he'll be the talker once we reach the ogres camp but I have no idea how. They're speaking a completely different language, a language which I recognize, and seeing as none of us resets speak a rough language like that it's hard to see how he'll be able to communicate with them. Perhaps he has another special skill power up his sleeve that he can use… Or he has studied a lot of different European languages during his time in our world but I highly doubt it. If he doesn't have a skill, all four of us have our weapons on so we can fight back. And with my new ability I can create absolute _havoc_ to the structures surrounding us if needed.

Chiyoko have us stop and regroup at an alley as we're starting to get closer to the center of the village, the four of us still concealing our presence and keeping low as we gather. It's a type in infiltration mission so we need to keep a low profile, thus she starts to make hand motions that basically translates to:

" _Enemy base. Three blocks. Enemy patrol approaching. 4 ninja. West 8. 3 minutes until contact. Action?_ "

I'm sure there is a more formal translation to it all but I've simplified my reading of the hand seals to remember them easier. And I once again wonder just _how_ Chiyoko can look through this thick mist of nature chakra while Taro is weighing out our decision with all of us looking at him to see his answer. I really, really need to ask her how to do it. I get a little surprised when Taro turns to me and make some hand signs.

" _Jutsu. Highly destructive?_ "

I nod with a slight grin, thinking for a second on how to tell it to him through signs just what it can do. Because I still haven't _told_ them what it is, he only guessed from the hole I put in my room.

" _Highly destructive. Jutsu denied. Cover denied. Make hole in enemy defenses. Large scale._ "

" _How long?_ "

" _2 minutes._ "

Our replies are short, no need for any unnecessary information and I'm sure they got the gist of my jutsu with those few hand signs. I can feel the approval radiating from my family members once I tell them of my new power, I really should have told them before we came here so I could give them a more elaborate description but oh well. Taro look towards Chiyoko and give her a slight nod.

" _To the gates. Engage if necessary. Hold formation. Fast disposal of patrol. Mio scatter them._ "

The rest of us nod in understanding at Taro's orders and we once again bound off after Chiyoko towards the center of the village. It seems like the center of their abode is around the Kazekage tower, I wonder what the leader in this world is like; if they're like the shadow kage or a larger and stronger ogre. I really hope they're a large ogre, I'd rather not have flashbacks of when I failed to save that chuunin…

Chiyoko glance towards our group over her shoulder, motioning with hand signals that we've been spotted and enemies are approaching. I doubt that we've been _spotted_ but maybe our presence has been sensed by the members of the ogre tribe. When I look towards Taro he tells us to proceed, so we do. It's a bit reckless to just burst into enemy territory like this, but I'm sure Taro has some kind of plan; otherwise he wouldn't have told us to do something like this.

A group of 4 Ogres suddenly appear in our path; despite the fact that we were hiding our chakra and presence they still found us. I recognise one of them, the red ogre whose face I burned last time I was here. It has a healed up scar now where I damaged him and he's looking very angry.

"Stop!"

He says in English with some kind of accent, not in Japanese. This confuses me a little but with a sharp look from Taro, I remember the orders he gave us beforehand. So I nod, disregarding my thoughts about their language for now and look towards the ogres with narrowed eyes. I let the crash chakra flow freely through my body as I was given the order to scatter them, so I'll use a powerful crash move to split the ground underneath them and force the ogres to move away.

The ground underneath me break at the force of my jump as I quicken my pace to meet the ogres first, my speed increasing thanks to the chakra flowing through my limbs, and appear before the Ogres in only a second. I don't let myself think on it much, only aiming a hard stomp into the ground in front of the ogres outside of their sword range. The ground breaks underneath my foot with a loud boom, the ground rising up from the force like I wanted it to do and forcing the ogres to jump away in different directions to not lose their footing; they're really fast. I spare a quick glance around, noticing that the broken ground has divided into cubic shapes and risen more and more the further away from me the shock-wave was. I did try to create such a shock-wave in my empty ID beforehand, but it still impresses me how powerful this Crush ability is.

I'm brought back to reality by the rattling sound of Yohio's puppets and just in time to dodge under a sword strike that would absolutely have severed my head. I grit my teeth in frustration over my own distraction, glaring up at that red ogre who just tried to kill me; it seems like he jumped right back into the middle towards me after he'd jumped away. He's leveled up from last time…

I can hear battle start around us, but I don't have time to think about it as I quickly draw my unfolded bo staff to block the second hit from the red ogre in front of me. Even with chakra running through my arms, crash chakra at that, I have a difficult time holding him back. He's really damn strong, fuck, this one should be Taro's opponent not mine! Is this the Maker's doing again!?

With a quick mumbling of great fireball jutsu, I try the same trick I performed last time and breathe right into the ogres face to have him at least back off. It does duck away, but not far enough to give me a breather as he only swipe at me with another skillful sword strike. My bo staff still isn't unfolded so I don't have the full reach of my weapon to retaliate, I can only deflect his strikes the best I can while backing away from his sword's reach.

I'm _very_ thankful when I hear a familiar "shing" sound through the air, one of Chiyoko's metal fans cutting the red ogres chest just as he was about to take another swipe at me. She was aiming for the head, but the ogres reflexes were sadly good enough just to avoid the deadly blow. This gives me just the time I need to extend my bo staff to it's full length with a well practiced twirl, swinging hard at the ogre to try and hit him somehow. Even with his chest bleeding from Chiyoko's attack, the ogre manage to dodge or parry my strikes; but the battle between us come to a sudden halt when Taro appear behind the ogre and hold a kunai to his throat.

My muscles are sore from the Crush chakra I used and I look around the battlefield as I let myself relax. I see no ogres left, they must've taken care of the others then. Well, I'm sure they were no match for them; they're a lot more skilled than I am… Maybe it just felt like it took a long time for them to come to my aid because I was so focused on the battle, yeah that must be it. I'm not certain if I'd be able to beat this ogre in all honesty...

"Now, you seem to be the leader of this troop. Take us to your leader and we'll have a _pleasant_ chat."

I blink slightly in confusion towards Taro, wondering why he's trying to talk with it when I've clearly stated that the ogres speak some other kind of language. But much to my surprise, the ogres eyes widen, trying to look at Taro from the corner of his eye without turning his head. If he turns his head, the knife will cut into him after all. He says some kind of gibberish in return, sounding as shocked as I am, and Taro only smiles pleasantly behind him even if the ogre can't see it.

"Oh we humans are full of surprises. Now, I'll spare your life and you take us to the leader of your village. Or I'll slit your throat right here. Which do you choose?"

I can see the ogre hesitate, looking over me and my family members as Chiyoko and Yohio are joining me in front of the two of them. He's clearly outnumbered so if he does value his life he'd better take us there peacefully. I sheathe my bo staff once more as I can hear Yohio and Chiyoko do the same with their weapons. I don't think Taro pulled out his large battle fan once during the fight, I'd have noticed any strong winds stirring up…

"We're not here to kill you all, we want to settle this talk with as little bloodshed as possible. So? What will it be?"

After the last prompt from Taro, the scarred ogre begrudgingly sheathe his sword back into his scabbard and say a small "da", which could only be a form of agreement in his language as Taro take away the knife from his throat. As if practiced, Taro cut away the strap to the ogres scabbard and Yohio use his chakra strings to quickly pull it away from his person and into my cousins hand. The ogres is obviously enraged by this, taking a threatening step towards Yohio but is quickly stopped when Taro's kunai once again appear but this time by his face. He says that we'll return the sword once we're done and with that the Ogre begrudgingly starts to walk towards the village, with Taro right behind him and us behind Taro.

Now that everything calmed down, I look towards Yohio and point towards Taro, eyes still wide in wonder at how he can make himself understood b the ogres and understand them in return.

"Hey, what _is_ that ability? He can understand what the ogre is saying."

Yohio grin slightly at me, looking very proud over the face that he knew about it beforehand and shrug slightly.

"Well, he got a special ability that let him use spells… Ever heard of **Dungeons and Dragons**?"

I blink at the sudden broken English term Yohio says, looking towards Taro as I think about this. Dungeons and Dragons, yeah I've heard about it, it's a weird role playing game where you use books or something to play. And apparently weirdly shaped dices too?.

"You mean that roleplay stuff…? Taro got abilities from _that_? But how? I thought he only had books."

"Well, **Dungeons and Dragons** are books, he's told me he played it a lot as a kid and got the ability here. He can change spells every time he sleeps too so it has a lot of different uses. And it's not even a SSP 50 ability! He upgrades his level with SSP instead so he doesn't have a huge setback for it."

I look up at Yohio with a raised eyebrow, crossing my arms and a bit amused at how proud my cousin is to have this information. True, I didn't know about it as I know little about the type of abilities either of my fellow Resets have, but it's still amusing that he's so proud over it.

"Sounds cool. A roleplay game ability within a gamer ability seems a bit complicated but whatever works. Do you got anything similar? Using games and all that."

"Nah, not yet. I think I got some stuff from **Disgaea** I can unlock but I don't think it'll be like Taros…"

"Never heard of that one."

"Seriously? It's only one of the best turn base strategy games from Japan! That and **Final fantasy** , I wish I can get stuff from that game."

Our conversation is interrupted by Chiyoko as she lets out a loud sigh, making the two of us look over towards her. She's rubbing her forehead in obvious frustration, aiming a glare towards the two of us.

"Would you two stop talking about other worldly stuff? I don't get any of it so just stop."

I look ahead of us, seeing that the village is in view I decide that I can at least mess with Chiyoko a little bit. I mean if she complains like that, I just have to use the opportunity since she always does it to everyone else.

"The sad truth about being a youth, grown up these days, right? No respect for pop culture."

"So sad so true."

I'm delighted that Yohio join me in teasing his mother, but the grin on my face is quickly wiped off when Chiyoko firmly hit me on the top of my head, soon followed by Yohio. The two of us are nursing our heads as we approach the gates, Chiyoko looming over behind us angrily. Well, I think it was worth it.

The red ogre who was leading us to the village yell up something to the guards on top of the clay built wall and the mismatched wooden gates opens for us to step inside. The three of us catch up to Taro, standing straight back and our full attention aimed towards anything that could be a threat. All earlier playfulness is gone as we now return to full duty for the task ahead of us. The five of us step into the lush green village surrounding the kazekage tower, all of the citizens eyes directed towards us in fear and mistrust. Let's see how this goes.

* * *

There it's done! A bit shorter than I would've liked but with school still having my full attention I couldn't do much better at the moment. So she got Crush! A type of magic from Fairy tail that can destroy anything in it's path. Her limit for how long she can use it will grow as she gets older but right now it's more of a strong wild card for her. It was the one that fit her best as a character with her forwardness in battle.

And to answer last chapter's question: Shiro was from America but Yohio, Taro and Mio are all from European countries. I'm sure their first upbringing will come to play sometime in the story.

 **This chapter's question:** Would you like a special summer or holiday chapter? In that case, what would it be?

 **Review replies**

 **prisontaker:** Well you were right! A part from America and a part from Europe. but none from Japan I'm afraid but good guess!

Ooooh that could also work really well with her Crash chakra technique. :o You're giving me such great suggestions, thank you! I feel like I'm getting closer to figuring out which the last anime should be. X3

Woah I gotta check that one out. It might be a way for Mio to become stronger than Shiro despite her young age. :o

I'm not sure I understand it's effects but I'll look it up. Thanks!

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it as I'm enjoying your power suggestions. ^^ I very much appreciate it.

Thank you, I've done my best to take breaks but school is still snapping at my heels. Only one more week to go...

 **Raphaim:** Well for one, just because they noticed it last chapter doesn't mean it hasn't been in effect. Everything completely changed for Mio since she got her passive abilities, who's to say she didn't lose her saves when she did and that's the real reason she passed out from acquiring them? And yes, it's part of what they got. The abilities they receive are randomized since the maker doesn't want to waste time going through every single media they can get powers from and sort it out so they don't get over powerful abilities. Mio was just lucky (or unlucky) enough to receive overpowered gamer abilities in her arsenal.

 **EmikoTsubasa bunnydragon:** I'm looking forward to summer, yes. It means that I won't have to do homework for 3 months which is delightful.

You're super close with Germany! It's within Europe! Mio is from a bit more up north from Germany. ^^ If you're asking about the language of the ogres, no, they're not speaking German. But a language from Europe yes.

I guess you're asking about the Maker? The Maker are the Masago's personal god, the being that created them and dragged them into this universe. It's not me and not someone from their old world, it's a celestial being who want to watch a tragic story of ninja struggles while pulling on some strings to make it more interesting for themselves. Imagine that it's this non binary being who is incredibly bored with their desk job in heaven, just showing people into the gates or shunning them away. When they get so incredibly bored they can't take it, they descend into the "between" planes and play with people's souls and lives to amuse themselves. THAT is the Maker. The characters in the story might sometime address the Maker as "he" but the Maker doesn't have any gender.

I'm glad that you still like my story, thank you. X3

 **Haiyuu:** Yyyyup, the Maker is indeed a lazy developer. They can't accept that they've made mistakes but just put the blame on their creations, it's just easier that way.

And thank YOU for reviewing, I appreciate it! X3


	24. Aftermath

Hey everyone I'm back!

I'm so sorry for the long delay, I had lots of stuff to do and a lot of things to write for this chapter. So I'm very sorry for how late I am to post this but I'm doing my best to write on the story whenever I'm able! Summer will be hectic with lots of stuff in the way but I'll do my best to keep my schedule from now on. I'll try to post once a week but if I can't do that I'll post once every second week. Again, sorry for the wacky schedule!

This chapter will be focused on how Mio's choice of Crush magic has affected her every day life so kind of a filler but an important story filler.

Enjoy~!

(Also I've just noticed that I've spelled fuinjutsu wrong this entire time. It's fu _in_ jutsu not funjutsu. I'm so sorry for my mistake.)

* * *

Aftermath

All things considered, my life has been pretty good so far in this war filled universe. Not that I've been on the front lines but I've still experienced it, as most people know. But other than the hardships I've gone through just for existing, life has been pretty good.

I have a loving and supportive family, people who accept all kinds of weird quirks that each Masago tend to have. From Sho and Setsuko's prank wars to Yohio's love for poison and puppetry that he shares with Sasori. Not to mention my lack of self control and Ichiogo's very scary amount of self control; my family is diverse and happy, something that's not so common in this ninja world. Since none of us can die for real, well I can die now, we always know that we'll have someone to return to after a long hard day doing missions.

I've had great parents who helped raise me during my early childhood and has later guided me after I regained my memories. They've been firm when necessary but kind hearted to the core, which is something I appreciate in them. It's something different yet the same from what I experienced during my previous upbringing.

I've done well in school, graduated early and got a safe spot in the war effort thanks to my cousin being the next head of the clan. My teammates aren't too bad, kinda good once you get used to them, and I know I can count on them in a pinch. Where they might get on my nerves, Makoto specifically, our previous hateful arguments have now become more of a game than anything; to keep the dynamic that is working going.

So overall my life has been pretty good. With this ogre thing taken care of, I've been officially banned from entering the ogre ID ever again. And since it's a free day today I'm helping out in the house instead of training, I still have to make it up to mother for destroying my bed and room. The ogre thing was a jumbled mess since I didn't understand a word of what the Ogres were saying, but I could gather enough of the picture from what Taro was saying to them.

So they were doing small talk first, praising the village and world they lived in and being overall pleasant. Then they got serious and explained my ability, how it started and how it changed, where the Ogres seemed confused by the mention of change. They'd been there for multiple generations and nothing has changed recently. I couldn't grasp much else as they talked back and forth about rules and regulations because I could only get half of the conversation. All of it lasted for about 40 or so minutes until it was ultimately decided that the ogre ID shall never be used during any circumstance to let the Ogres live in peace.

It was kinda boring after the first fight with the patrol team but now I don't have to worry about that ID any longer. Since Taro gave me the order, I can't under any circumstance open the ogre ID since disobeying the leaders order really hurts. I have experienced it firsthand after all…

So that's it. No major fight, no city destruction or more death of Ogres for EXP; the ID is closed and shall stay that way. A little disappointing that I never got to kill any of them to see how much EXP I could get but oh well. It all got resolved peacefully in the end, only three deaths in the process on the Ogres side.

I wipe my forehead from sweat as I finally finished cleaning the bathroom floors; it's the nicest floor we have in our home so it needs a proper hand scrubbing from time to time so it will stay that way. The majority of the floors in all Suna homes are made of sand clay, firm and grainy yet steady enough to keep sand storms at bay. If we have smooth surfaces in Suna it'd get torn apart immediately be the sand, the academy have some wooden floors for comfort and the Kazekage residence as well but other than those houses it's rare to see wooden floor in our village. The carpet market is insane in Suna due to this.

I pick up the bucket of dirty water and pour it down into the empty bathtub, making sure that all the dirt actually enter the drain and not just stays in the tub. I let out a soft sigh once I'm finally done with the bathroom, removing the bandana from my head to free my messy hair from its prison. I've been doing this for the past hour and it's been really warm the whole time.

"Mom! I'm done!"

I call out as I exit the bathroom, walking towards the kitchen where I can hear her in the process of cleaning. I hope I'm done, I really really do, because I still need to train so I can get the hang of this Crush chakra of mine. When she turns around to look at me with that soft and thankful smile of hers though, I just know that my hard work isn't over yet.

"Well done Cherry. Would you mind putting away the dishes for me?"

I let out a soft groan but nod despite of it, placing the bucket on the floor so she can put it away later. I still owe her for breaking my room, this is the least I can do… not that I hate cleaning, I like having things tidy, but it's just annoying when I have to clean for such a long period of time . I'd rather have a fast cleaning and use the rest of that time to train and improve. But as per my mother's request, I walk over to the dish rack beside her where the cleaned plates are, grabbing a towel on the way with a bit of irritation stirring in my coils. I'll do this quickly so I can leave…

The moment my fingers touch the plate however, I can feel a slight tremble from the porcelain. Without my mind registering why, I push my mother to the side when I hear a loud 'crash!' echo through the kitchen. My heart is beating erratically in my chest and I'm letting out soft pants in surprise; what just happened? That's when a burning pain sensation is registered, mostly in my hand but also on my arm, face and the upper part of my torso. I stare down at my hand, eyes widening when I see large pieces of porcelain sticking out from it and littering across the kitchen countertop; the plate exploded from the middle just by a simple touch...? My vision is suddenly blocked on my left eye as a wall of red suddenly flow over it, making me close that eyelid and instinctively wipe away some blood with my porcelain free hand.

I quickly look down to my mom with my available eye, tense and worried that she somehow got caught in the fray but immediately relax in relief when I see that she's unharmed. I'm very thankful for the fast reflexes I've trained up with Yuuto's assistance, I didn't know what was happening before I pushed her aside. Her eyes are wide in surprise as she's gazing up at me, arms supporting her weight while still holding onto the rag she used for cleaning.

I completely ignore the blood flowing down my hand and face, a distant part of my mind registering that I took actual damage from that, and aim a sheepish smile towards my mother. I'm glad that she's ok.

"Well, looks like I can't grab plates anymore… I'm sorry, mom, I'll replace it."

As if I snapped her out from a daze, my mother flinches and quickly stands up to hover her hands worriedly over my face. I think some blood are dropping onto the floor, but it's not so bad. Better me than her after all.

"M-Mio! Oh Maker, are you alright!? Was it that power again? I thought- I'll go get the med kit, you stay here."

Just as she was about to leave, i reach out and gently grab her arm with my non pierced hand, shaking my head while still looking at her with my only available eye at the moment. It's only a slight annoyance, I don't need a med kit to heal. I just need a health potion but I doubt it'd work if the porcelain bits are still in me.

"No, no it's _fine_ mom. Better me than you. Can you help me pull out the pieces though? I can just drink a health potion and I'll be good as new, I promise."

She seems to hesitate for a few seconds, eyes shifting between me and the direction of the bathroom many times before she finally lets out a frustrated groan. She bends down slightly and starts to carefully remove the large piece of clay from my forehead, making the pain worse but I bear through it. If I change facial expression it'll only get worse.

"You reckless child, whatever am I going to do with you? You're only 8 years old! You shouldn't be able to worry me this much already."

"I am who I am and do what I do. Nothing you say would ever put my safety above yours, you're not immortal."

My comment makes her frown and she pulls out the next piece a little less carefully, causing me to flinch at the sharp pain in my forehead. I hear the piece clatter against the stone bench as she sets it down, I wonder how many pieces pierced me, I can only see those on my hand right now…

"You're not immortal either! Really, Mio you _need_ to take care of yourself now more than before. I can't lose my Cherry because you decided to put others lives above your own, life isn't a _game_."

I look away from her stern brown eyes, focusing on her hair instead so I won't move my face too much. Like always, her black locks are beautiful and perfect. I really wish I could've inherited her hair… Mother continues to pull pieces off porcelain off my body as I get tempted to say that life _is_ a game for us Masago. But that would only make her angrier… So I change the subject to something more light hearted.

"Is it Cherry the fruit you're talking about or Cherry the French word?"

"The French word, of course. You'll always be my little darling sweetheart no matter how much trouble you get into."

I can't help but smile widely at her words, a pleasant hum of my chakra spreading through my body. Cherry has always been a nickname everyone in my family have used… It started out as a joke from Aiko but it stuck after Yohio explained the meaning of the word in French. So Cherry is a special nickname, it's a nickname I'll always cherish and enjoy being called as by my family.

As my mother continues to pull out porcelain pieces from my person, I take out a healing potion so I'll be ready with it once it's all done. As the blood flow is freed, I'm sloooowly losing HP due to blood loss. Not an huge amount, of course not, but enough that I want to use my health potion right after she's finished. So when she says she can't see any more pieces left, I quickly drink the whole bottle to close up my wounds. It's bitter and disgusting to the taste, as always, but I've gotten used to it for the most part.

Mother help me wipe off the blood from my person and the floor, during which the two of us are quiet. I really need to keep this Crush ability under control. If I continue to destroy plates like I did just now it would just- the thought that anything I touch could suddenly explode is worrisome. I need to practice more… So once the two of us finish cleaning up, I excuse myself from cleaning and goes off to train. Because if I can't control my Crush chakra and it reacts the same way towards larger structures, I could accidentally bring down my own home. And I can't let that happen…

* * *

"Cherryyyy."

I look up from my stretching position when I can hear a female voice call out to me, seeing Setsuko approaching as I've been training in the training ground close to our compound. It's a control exercise more than anything, that I should be able to perform my usual training and stretching routine without my Crush chakra making a single crack in the ground. So far I've been mostly successful… I've made about 5 cracks in the ground so it's an improvement.

Setsuko stop in front of me, the 19 year old clearly much taller than I am as she's standing over me with a wide grin on her face. I can recognize that look in her eyes, I've seen it before many times after all. Right after she and her brother returned from their mission, I've heard that they started a prank war again since they got a week off. And now she's looking at me just how she usually does when she wants me to help her. Don't get me wrong, Sho asks for help too, and the two of them usually come to me for help since I'm the one most likely to agree. Yuuto can agree to take part a few times too but the others always outright refuse to take part unless the twins have some sort of blackmail they can use against them. I'm more than happy to help them though, it's a lot of fun in the end. And it's nice that their childish acts haven't faded even now when they're grown up… And soon they'll also move from the compound to their own apartment or whatever it was. They've been of age for a few years now.

"Yeah Setsuko? What is it?"

I ask even if I know what she wants to ask me, finishing the last stretch before I stand up to face my cousin. My head reaches up to just below her breasts as I'm standing up but it doesn't annoy me too much; I can't wait for when I've grown even taller though, I hate being small. Setsuko leans in a little as if she'll tell me a secret, her long dark blue hair tied up in a neat high ponytail like usual to keep it away from her face. She look around and place a hand by her mouth to "whisper" to me as if someone could be listening to us right now.

"You want to help me out with a prank against Sho? It'll be great~."

I let out a soft snort and gesture towards the ground where there are currently 5 cracks in the ground varying in size depending on how much concentration I had during my training. The largest being about a foot wide which I really need to fix up with a jutsu or someone will trip. Or I could just report it to the tower…

"I'd like to but I still have trouble controlling my powers. It's-... I don't want to destroy more than I want to in an accident or something."

"Oh no that's great, I _want_ you to use it."

I look up at Setsuko in surprise, blinking a few times as I'm processing if I really heard her right. She _wants_ me to destroy something with my Crush chakra…? So I shake my head with a frown aimed at my cousin, crossing my arms and giving her a serious glare to try and get my point across.

"So you want to do a prank against Sho… And use my _very_ destructive powers to do so? Are you mad?"

Setsuko only giggles softly at my remark and proceed to mess up my head like all the other members of my family do; it's as annoying as it is pleasant. A gentle buzz starts in my chest when I gently slap away her hand with a frown and tries to straighten out the now puffy mess that is my hair. While I'm doing that she answers my questions in order while counting on her fingers.

"Yes and maybe. So what if I want you to destroy a _large_ tub of sand right over Sho's head when he least expects it~? Because a bucket can be easily be destroyed by anyone but a really really _large_ tub is something only you could help my with. It might even get into his underwear!"

She laughs softly at the thought, a gleeful sparkle of mischief shining in her eyes as she rub her hands together in anticipation. I let out a soft sigh when Setsuko won't change her mind on that notion, and it does sound like a lot of fun. So I smile up at my cousin and give her a slight nod, with how everyone keeps messing up my hair I'll never get it straight so I might as well give up on it. And dumping a whole tub of sand on top of Sho does seem like a lovely idea…

"Alright alright, I'll help you. Do you got a specific tub in mind then?"

"Oh I got the perfect one~."

Setsuko grabs onto my hand and proceeds to drag me towards our compound, explaining her plan on the way there. Apparently I'm supposed to stand on the wall of their home holding onto the tub of sand while Setsuko enters the house to get Sho outside. She'll drag him out and I'll have to time my drop so I'll hit Sho and not her when they exit the door. I'll also have to make sure all plastic pieces aren't sharp as to hurt anyone. This is done easily enough since I can focus on breaking it apart into cubes where they'd be less likely to hurt someone if they're a bit larger cubes of plastic.

What I don't tell her however is that I might "accidentally" hit her as well when I drop the bucket of sand. There's no fun in always joining in on their prank wars without doing a bit of a prank on both when I'm supposed to help one.

So after me and Setsuko filled the plastic bucket with sand, I use chakra enhanced muscles to lift up the heavy tub into my hands. If I were a normal kid I'd never be able to lift this bucket, but thankfully I'm a Masago with somewhat high strength stats. And with my great chakra control I walk up the side of the wall backwards so that I can easier hold the sand tub aloft without spilling a grain of sand. Sure, I could use chakra to create the sand sticking technique to the tub, but that might accidentally activate my Crush chakra in the process.

Setsuko flash a thumbs up towards me as she's standing by the door, to which I nod back and flash a wide grin towards her. The young woman then enters the main household in search of her brother; Sho is inside his room so she shouldn't have a hard time finding him.

I concentrate on my chakra control in my feet as I wait for the twins to exit the building, but during this time is also when the twin's mother, Emi, steps outside. For some reason she looks up and blinks in surprise when she sees me holding a plastic tub above the doorway. I only smile politely towards her with a slight nod, as if me being here is perfectly normal. This makes Emi smile fondly and close the door behind her as to not alert her kids of anything wrong.

"Hello there Mio. Agreeing to their pranks again are you?"

"Yyyyup~. Though they don't know I'll dump them both."

I reply with a mischievous wink in her direktion. This makes the civilian woman laugh, brushing away some of her brown hair away from her face as she steps off to the side. Emi has always been more accepting of the twins childish actions compared to Taro, she loves the fact that the war and their profession haven't rid them of their childish glee to perform pranks. Taro want them to be a bit more serious but I think deep down he agrees with his wife on that notion, that it's good they're childish despite the circumstances.

"Well then, do you mind if I stay and watch?"

"Not at all~. They're walking down the stairs now, step away a bit so you don't get blasted as well."

The woman nods and steps a few feet away from the door, close enough to have a clear view of their expressions but also far enough away that she won't be in the immediate dust cloud of sand getting dropped on two young adult's heads. As they step through the door, I immediately make my crush chakra run through the plastic tub to break it down into cubes. The large mass of sand land on top of the two twins immediately afterwards and I _know_ they could've gotten away in time since they're talented ninja but they stay and let themselves get dumped by sand. So the two cough loudly and brush sand off their clothes in disgust while I'm standing over them with a large grin on my face.

Setsuko look up at me with an angry expression on her face while she's trying to shake out the sand from her clothes. She's irritated, sure, but i doubt my actions were surprising to either of them.

"Mio! You were supposed to hit only him!"

This makes Sho look up at me with a similar angry look on his face. I can hear Emi giggle softly in the background while I let go of the last pieces of the plastic tub with a slight shrug aimed towards the twins. Now it's time to run.

"Oops?"

I say before I use body flicker to quickly get away from my enraged cousins, the two of them following after me rather quickly. This isn't the first time I've "betrayed" either of them, now I just have to hide until dinner and I'll be free from noogie punishment for my actions. I have no idea how it works, but that's just how it is.

I manage to barely dodge Sho's attempt at grabbing my waist by slipping through his grasp and landing on the street below with a wide grin on my face. I quickly jump to the side to avoid Setsuko's kick and as I turn towards my cousins I can see that they have equally large, joyful grins on their faces as I do. The two twins spread out on either side of me to try and give me no escape route, to which I look between the two of them. This is a fun little game.

"You won't get away this time Mio. I'll have to spank you like the naughty kid you are."

Says Sho, making me let out a mocking huff and straighten up slightly between the two of them. There are a few people walking along the streets, but since they see our clan symbols no one pays us any heed; everyone in Suna knows that Masago tend to do strange things.

"Ha! Me, naughty? I never thought I'd ever hear the word be associated with me. But you gotta catch me first!"

Acting quickly, I throw a smoke bomb into the ground, causing a large cloud of black harmless smoke to envelop the streets as it gives me an opening to run away. I can hear the twins shout after me that it was cheating but it can hardly be called cheating, at least when I need any advantage I can get when it comes to avoiding the twins.

Now if I can just get to Sasori's workshop I'll be safe. The two of them are so creeped out by his puppets that they never dare to go over there~.

I quickly slip inside Sasori's workshop and close the door behind me, panting softly as I put in a lot of effort to throw my cousins off the trail. I had to resort to clones, smoke bombs and all kinds of knickknacks to get away from them but now when I'm in Sasori's workshop they can't get to me. I let out a quiet laugh, moving some hair from my face and walk deeper into the building; I can feel Sasori in here so I might as well go and talk to him for a bit.

As I walk deeper into the building, I pass a few different door on either side of me, maybe workshops of other puppeteers like Sasori and Yohio. But the one I'm moving towards is the one furthest down the corridor, which is also the largest workshop. It's needed since Sasori constantly make new puppets for others to use and would fill up the other smaller workshops rather quickly.

The room is dimly lit as I enter and I can see rows upon rows of puppets in the room, all staring blank faces towards the floor. They're all of varying shapes and sizes, while the majority of his stronger puppets are made from people he meet in battle there are still a number of "monstrosities" in his collection. His ideas for puppets are so diverse that it's fascinating; I can even see a Hiroku off in the back that's not quite finished yet.

As always Sasori is sitting by his workshop table, tinkering with something that's clicking like wood with two candles on either side of him to give him a proper visual of his work. I walk up to him, knowing that he sensed my presence long ago, and offer a small smile at his turned back.

"Hey Sasori, mind if I stay here for a bit?"

"I don't mind… The twins, Yuuto or Yohio?"

I let out a soft snort as I reach his table, pulling over the chair he always has in case Yohio or I join him in here so I can sit down. It's a spinning chair so I slowly starts to spin around as I explain my situation, Sasori is focused on his work so I don't need to be polite and look at him while I'm talking.

"The twins, I dumped a whooole tub of Sand on them this time. It was pretty funny~."

Amidst my spinning I can see a small smile play on Sasori's lips when I say this and he let out a curious 'hum' sound as he's asking me to elaborate. Glad that I've gotten Sasori's attention, I stop spinning and face him as I tell him of my tale; all while Sasori is still working on his weapon components. I tell him of how Setsuko invited me for the prank, how Emi joined and how I ultimately pranked them both. Then I tell a slightly exaggerated version of my escape, making sure to make it believable but much more cooler sounding than "barely able to run away from my cousins wrath". Once I finish with my Tale, Sasori put aside his tools to face me, raising an eyebrow while wearing a small smirk on his face.

"Another exaggerated tale, I'm sure."

"Wha-? It was _not_ exaggerated! Now I'm offended, maybe I really _shouldn't_ give you my fuinjutsu expertise."

I say with an exaggerated huff and turn away with my nose held high. I lean my elbow against the workshop and make it a point to not look at Sasori at all. This makes the older teen chuckle softly and I can feel a hand gently rub my head shortly afterwards.

"You shouldn't lie you know. Learn some manners. … _brat_."

I frown over at the red haired boy and gently slap his hand away from my head, making a point to straight up in my chair to not seem like a brat. Despite the downgrading nickname, my chakra still buzzes softly in response to Sasori calling me that; I know it's his version of "cherry" like everyone in my family calls me. It's kind of an honor… But also annoying.

"I'm not a brat, I'm a perfectly capable adult!"

"Hm"

His smirk only widens at my response and he return to his work soon after. I let my earlier ire die down in favor of a comfortable silence, watching Sasori as he work on the puppet component. It's a very small delicate piece in the size of a palm that will shoot needles from it, needles that aren't poisoned yet. But as I watch him work, I also notice something special with his hands.

"... You've replaced your arms with puppet limbs…?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

I frown heavily at this revelation, staring hard at Sasori's face as I try to discern some kind of emotion from him. His chakra network seems normal… So he's used the same method on his human puppets on his own fucking arms? How the fuck does he even _manage_ that? Sasori only continues to work on his project as he replies.

"It's more efficient to have puppet arms if someone gets within close combat. Would be a nasty surprise… Don't worry, the rest of my body is still flesh."

When he says the last part he glances over towards me for only a second before focusing on his puppet piece once more. A tension I didn't know existed is released from my shoulders and I let out a quiet sigh in relief. That's good at least… I don't want him to be obsessed over making _himself_ the ultimate work of art. If Sasori heard my relieved sigh or not, he doesn't give any indication to it.

"Speaking of efficient, have you managed to create your masterpiece yet? I've finished those water storage scrolls you asked for, they're in my room back home."

"Hm, I'll come and get them some other day then… And not yet. I have barely started on that project, too many commissions to do…"

I can hear the slight disdain in his voice when he mentions commissions and he tests out the needle launching mechanism on the wall in front of him. Satisfied that it works he removes all the needles from the wall and I lean in to help him. Chiyo is the leader of the puppet brigade kind of and as her grandson she puts more pressure on him than anyone else. Not to mention the amount of people who want to have a puppet from Sasori of the Red Sand, he's famous for his effective poison and well made puppets.

"But then demand a month or so off commissions to work on your own projects. You're popular enough to not get bad cred for it, everyone wants your puppets after all. So just tell Chiyo that you refuse to take any new commissions until your own project is done, she'll _have_ to shut up at that one."

I place the needles I pulled out into Sasori's outstretched hand and a small smile forms when I notice the thoughtful look on Sasori as he's thinking over my words. He eventually nods slowly and gives me a small smile in return, a slight sparkle lighting up in his usually dull eyes at the thought of working on his personal project full time when he's in the village.

"You're right… I could do that. Thanks for the suggestion, brat."

"I told you to not call me 'brat', when are you gonna join in on a birthday celebration?"

"And I've told you both that I never will. It's your family gathering."

"But you're practically _part_ of our family!"

"I'm only close to you and Yohio. I'm acquaintances with the rest at most."

I continue to lounge around Sasori's workshop while waiting for the time to pass, sometimes striking up conversations and sometimes just observing his work. It's kinda cool how he makes separate parts first and with such accurate measurements to puzzle it all together into a whole. Puppetry is really cool… But that fighting style would never work for me, I'm more for a direct approach rather than hiding behind a creation of wood.

Once it gets closer to dinner time, I stand up from my spinning chair and stretch out my arms above my head. The twins should've given up by now so I'm free to get back home.

"Well, it's time for me to get back home. Make sure you do too so you can get some food into your belly, Sasori."

"I will. Goodbye, brat."

I let out a soft snort and flick him lightly in the back of his head, to which he doesn't react at all obviously. I walk out from the workshop, feeling very happy and satisfied. Today has been a great day, a terrific day. Tomorrow it's back to doing missions with my team, once we graduate into chuunin we won't run missions with Yohio anymore so I'm pretty sure he'll test our limits now at the end of our tutorship under him. I'm sure it'll be fine as long as Makoto doesn't insult me so I get angry.

* * *

I let out a soft sigh, turning over to my side as I'm lying in the living room couch. It's been a sand storm warning today, one that will appear during the evening, so it's really dry outside right now. Through this I don't want to bother going out today, everyone has said that I need free days after all. Even if I _should_ practice my crash chakra more I don't feel like it right now. I've practiced a lot with my Crush chakra these past two weeks but despite my efforts I've made little progress. I still break fragile items by accident if I hold onto them, like a plate or glass, and if I get irritated or enthusiastic while holding onto something it'll definitely break.

When I held onto a plank I was carrying I got annoyed that we were forced to do a D-tank missions since we didn't have that many new genins to take care of them all. While I got irritated, the plank I was holding exploded in my hands due to my chakra reacting to my emotions. Thankfully we haven't received any stupid D-rank missions since then. Though when we were having a team exercise in a large training ground to track snakes, I made the snake I was holding onto explode when I shouted out that I got one. Which means that I need to be careful to not touch _anyone_ when my emotions are acting up or I might risk hurting or killing someone in the process…

And that thought fucking sucks.

The Masago family are very busy now during war time so it's not often all of our clan members are here at once, Yuuto and Sasori are away so I can't hang out with them. And since I meet Yohio and my two teammates almost every single day I don't want to search them out… Rasa is also away on a mission, has been for a long time, so I can't invoke my new raw power on that guy either and possibly beat him; I still have that quest to do after all. At least my grandparents are always around, not that I talk to them very often, and when Aiko returns to Suna I barely see her since she lives outside the compound. Which the twins also will do pretty soon...

I frown slightly as I turn over in the couch, looking up into the clay roof of my home as I think a bit about this; there are two empty houses in our compound but none of my cousins want to use them. Sure, I can understand wanting to live on your own but come on, we have a clan compound for a reason! We're supposed to stick together! I've heard from Chiyoko that Aiko is planning on having a kid soon, possibly before the war is over. Not that I've talked to Aiko myself but I have searched out Chiyoko for some pointers in my sensing abilities after the ogre mission.

It's all changing so rapidly that I can't keep up… They're all so much older than I am and they're already thinking about families. Hell, when I was 22 years old I never thought about having a family much less having an actual partner. I doubt this life will be any different honestly, I'll be too focused on not dying and getting stronger to think about that kind of stuff; Aiko still has her saving system and a great guy as a partner so it's perfectly reasonable she's thinking about it.

But it doesn't feel like such a long time ago when she was just my teenage cousin who teased me and treated me like a kid constantly. And now the twins I so often did pranks together with are 19 and will move outside of the compound… Maybe Aiko will move in again once she's pregnant, then I would be able to see her more often. And Yohio is 15 soon 16… He'll be taking over the clan completely once he's 18 years old so these are the last two years when I can address him as my cousin rather than the head of our clan. It all feels so strange how everything is trudging along without me there to affect it in any way, I'm the youngest out of all of us so of course I'll do everything last it's only natural. But since I've lived a whole life before this one it just makes everything-... I don't know.

Like time is flying by for my cousins while I'm going at a snail's pace…

I let out a sigh and sit up in the couch, grabbing onto my head as I try to shake off those thoughts. This is the reason why I shouldn't have a free day without doing anything, I get all of these ridiculous thoughts into my head. a million kinds of 'what if' scenarios that I'd rather leave forgotten forever. Like 'what if I was reborn in a different village' or 'what if I was the only one in the entire world with a gamer power'. I hate all these thoughts that pop up when I'm not focusing on one thing or the other… I should go upstairs and practice on my fuinjutsu just so I can occupy my mind with something.

So I stand up and stretch my arms above my head to ease up my muscles a bit and start heading towards the stairs; my mother is away for some grocery shopping and my father is out in the war so I have the whole house for myself right now. It's kinda nice in a way.

As I'm making my way up the stairs, I freeze up at a familiar sensation going through my body. The world around me flickers away into a black mist-like surrounding where I'm floating in the middle of this space. Like I've been disconnected from reality… I try to look around even if my body is locked in its place, trying to figure out why this is happening. This is a restart, someone is loading a file. I float there in panic for only a second or two but it feels like forever as me consciousness is traveling back in time. My being collides with a solid wall and knocks the wind out of me to which I quickly open my eyes and take in a sharp breath of air. I sit up from my lying position, looking at the time to see how far back I went with this reload.

I went back only a few minutes…?

I know Taro can see who reloaded, it's something the head of the clan can do, so I quickly stand up to walk towards the door. He's in a council meeting room most likely but something like this can't be overlooked I think, someone reloaded to save only a few minutes. What's happening?

I only manage to put on my shoes before it happens again, disorientating my surroundings and throwing me back into my lying position on the couch. My heart is beating erratically at the unpleasant sensation, sitting up and holding onto my aching chest. Now they reset again after a few seconds? Who's doing it? What's going on? I only manage to bring up my party menu to try and call Taro before it happens once more, the reloads intervals getting shorter and shorter for each time. It feels like I'm constantly having an outer body experience, slamming into a wall that's my body over.

And over.

And over.

And over…

When I finally get enough bearings in my body to physically move, I immediately roll off the couch and curl up on the floor. My heart is beating hard and fast in my chest, it feels like I can't get enough air into my lungs despite my fast breathing. I'm choking… I'm choking…!

The bile builds up in my throat and without any regards to the carpet underneath me, I let out my previous lunch onto the floor. My vision is a mess of colours, a loud ringing constant in my ears as I'm trying to make sense of what's happening. I heave multiple times onto the floor, the nausea within me never receding despite of it. I can hear a muffled sound of ringing despite the loud high pitched sound in my ears but I can't draw any correlation as to what that sound means.

All I know now is the pain in my chest, how I have no air in my lungs and how my world is spinning to and fro constantly. With the need for air still burning hot in my lungs, my limbs start to move, to where I have no clue but I trust my body's instincts. I'm choking, I'm dying, I need air and I need it now please. Someone there? I don't know! Help me please!

My world spins around once more as I can feel a pressure on my back, with the high pitched ringing still in my ears I can't hear what's happening much less see. A pressure is placed upon my neck in the middle of my windpipe and suddenly I can _breathe_ again. Like a starved fish gaping for water I eagerly such in large gulps of air, eyes wide and blinking as colours and shapes are slowly starting to make sense to me once more.

Once my vision turn less blurry I see two worried faces in front of me; Taro and Yohio with Taro being the one holding onto me. Still afraid to lose any air I find myself gripping onto the hand pressing against my neck like a lifeline, as if I'll be unable to breath as the irrational part of my brain is telling me. the high pitched noise in my ears starts to dim and I can hear their voices calling out to me like they're speaking through a filter of some sort.

"Mi-... -ear me?"

I nod frequently, still holding onto Taro's hand and taking in deep breaths of much needed air. I'm so fucking thankful Taro is a medical ninja, I don't know how many times he's helped our family with his expertise. The two males in front of me visibly relax at my nod and Taro gently lifts me up into a sitting position while still pressing his fingers into my neck. I can feel another hand start to gently comb through my hair which is doing wonders of calming my erratically beating heart.

"I'll re-ove my -and now… Slow -d steady…"

One of them slowly removes my fingers from around Taro's hands and I let them do so, instead focusing on the hair petting and trying to slow down my breathing. Once Taro removes his finger to let me breathe without his aid, I suddenly choke up and start coughing when I have to breathe on my own. But soon after I regain my breathing with the help of Taro's soothing voice and Yohio's calming petting of my hair.

Once I've successfully regained control of my body I look up towards Taro with a tired nod, to thank him for coming so quickly. If he hadn't come i honestly think I would've died… I never thought experiencing reloads so soon in between would have such a huge affect on me, experiencing a reload once is bad enough but to go through it _repeatedly_?

That whole thing was just a nightmare…

As Yohio bring me in for a hug, I relax against my cousin, feeling safe in his embrace as I'm still looking at Taro. I'm trying to convey the mental message 'what the hell just happened' without actually speaking to him. The head of the clan seems to pick up on this as his neon green gaze turns solemn, reaching out to grasp my hand. These two are doing a damn good job of making me feel small right now, but with what happened earlier I know I need this kind of comfort...

"Mio, me and Yohio looked through the files on our way here… It was Setsuko who reloaded so many times."

Yohio tighten his grip on me slightly, making me glance up at him with a frown of confusion. What would make Setsuko reload like this though? If there was someone she wanted to save, she could've just reloaded further back, not to the same point over and over again. My vision is still a little blurry but I'm steadily calming down from my earlier breakdown, my gamer's mind is most likely getting to work to stabilize my mental instability right this moment. I glance back to Taro when the man tightens his grip a little on my hand. I can't see his expression very clearly but his overall posture is now just slumped compared to his previous straight back when he was taking care of me.

"Mio, Yohio… Sho has disappeared from the list."

My eyes widen once more when he says this with such a monotone voice, looking between Taro and Yohio man times for some reassurance that it's not real. Why would Sho disappear from the list? A Masago can't defect from the clan in that way, a Masago can't die thanks to our saves. I'm the only Masago who can die, right? Right?

"Sho has died…"

My world turns black soon after I hear those words. My Gamer's mind just couldn't keep up…

* * *

... ^^ I have nothing to say.

 **This chapter's question:** What do you think happened to Yuuto, who was out in the field, after all these reloads had happened?

 **Review replies**

 **prisontaker:** Alright~. Thank you for your vote, I'll see what I can do. ^^

Oh wow you're SPOILING me with all these great power ideas. As always thank you!

Though I fail to see where the language ability will be useful. Sure she'd be able to understand if someone spoke in a different language but would she be able to talk back? And would she ever hear another spoken language that she wouldn't understand ever again after the ogres? I doubt it. ^^"

Huh I haven't heard of that one. And if it's an anime or Manga neithet Yohio or Taro would be able to have it sadly. And I've already set up all of their abilities. But maybe, I'll check it out at least! It might be fun to give her that suggestion. Honestly at this point with how many animes you're giving me I might just make the last category into a mashup of powers instead of from one series.

Huh maybe... I can't see how the Endless evolution would play out though since it's basically an the rapid growth system a reset like her already has. Being a reset gives her a boost to all EXP gained after all. Though it might be useful if she wants to go beyond level 100... I'll think about that one And with pure physical strength, i'm not sure, I haven't really figured out just how much her physical strength has increased just by having crash chakra. To have even more than that would make her into a _monster._ XD

Oooh that would be very useful indeed. It would be cool if Mio would actually be able to use her smarts instead of just using her brawn, she has high INT but she just doesn't want to use it. X,D That could be a great way for her to actually use it in a fight without thinking too much.

Thank you so so much for ALL your help. Truly, I'm so happy you like my story and want to help me with the different powers like this. Thank you SO much for reviewing, it's always a delight to see. ^^

 **EmikoTsubasa bunnydragon:** Hey there! And thanks for your suggestion. Though since I don't celebrate 4th july, since I'm from Europe, I'd feel uncomfortable writing such a chapter since I have no idea what you do during 4th july. But maybe I'll write some kind of different celebration.

 **AnimeFrkGrl:** Gai clone...? I'm not sure I understand the correlation. Is it because of her strength now you mean? Because the two of them are nothing alike in personality and their fighting style is also vastly different. Though the image of it did make me chuckle. X,D

 **Cupcake:** Welcome back! i'm glad you like my story enough to want to find it again.

Thank you very much. :3 And yes, the rune power is included in the fairytail tree, I also have plans to combine it with her fuinjutsu knowledge.

Ah ok, thank you for your opinion. It's appreciated. ^^

Thank you! And thank you for reviewing, it makes me very happy.


	25. Masago family tree

I heard a request for a family tree so I decided to make it easy to skip or see if they want to by making it its own chapter. This page will also include a bit of Mio's abilities, but not her stats as I sadly don't clearly remember which stats she had when she was 8 years old. I apologise for that...

 **Family tree of the Masago**

 **Founders**

 **Shiro Masago  
** The founder of the ninja split within the Masago family.  
Was previously part of a merchant family but due to his fast growth in strength  
he was quickly renown as a ninja. Was a guard to his clan in the first shinobi war  
and helped with the creation of Sunagakure with his clan.  
Had powers from many different cartoons and affinity for all elements. As well as Fuinjutsu mastery.  
Purple hair with neon red eyes, was 82 years older than Mio and died at age 84 in bed. **Reset.  
**

 **Married to Civilian Natsumi  
** Deceased at age 65.

 **Gave birth to two sons  
** **Jiro Masago and Katsuo Masago**

 **Katsuo Masago  
** He is the older sibling and previous head of the clan before  
Taro came of age. Has a 'no nonsense' impression on others  
but is really quite nice. Was a great asset to Suna  
in the second war but now spends his day in peace in the  
clan compound. While his previous duties might call him in for an  
important meeting he prefers to stay at home.  
Is 58 years older than Mio and had blue straight hair, now a lighter shade of blue, and dark green eyes.

 **Married to ninja Sayaka  
** The two of them was part of the same team and love blossomed.  
Is also 58 years older than Mio.

 **Gave birth to one son one daughter  
Chiyoko Masago and Taro Masago**

 **Grandparents**

 **Jiro Masago  
** The younger sibling and 'inferior' to Katsuo as he himself says.  
(has kind of a brother complex that is never shown in the story.)  
Performed well in the second war and now spends his days in peace.  
Spends most of his time with his wife and rarely exits the house unless he will go see his brother.  
Is 55 years older than Mio and had spiky red hair, now lighter shade and more 'poofy', and brown eyes.

 **Married to civilian Masami**  
Is 56 years older than Mio, one year older than Jiro. **  
**

 **Gave birth to one son one daughter  
Ichigo Masago and Hiro Masago**

 **Parents**

 **Chiyoko Masago  
** Is the oldest among siblings and was expected to become clan head before  
Taro was born. Was thankful to not get the responsibility as she'd rather  
not be forced to be polite and talk to people. Has a bit of a temper and always says what's on  
her mind and rarely use a filter for her words. After Mio got her memories back the  
family could thankfully explain it by Mio getting influenced by Chiyoko. Is a very skilled  
tracking ninja using chakra sensing and her weapon of choice are two bladed fans  
as she uses chakra strings to control them and minor wind jutsu.  
Her main elements are wind and lightning.  
Is 36 years older than Mio and has straight dark green hair and blue eyes.

 **Married to ninja Gorou  
** Was previously part of Chiyoko's team and love blossomed.  
He focuses on stealth and precision, using Senbon and poison to take out his  
enemies quietly. Has a calm personality to counter Chiyoko's fierce one and is  
usually the one cooking and cleaning the house.  
Main element is earth.  
Is also 36 years older than Mio and has spiky brown hair and brown eyes. **  
**

 **Gave birth to one son one daughter  
Yohio Masago and Aiko Masago**

 **Taro Masago  
** Is the current clan head of the Masago and is very proud of his position.  
He is open and caring towards everyone in the clan but can also be just as  
'scary' to keep the clan in check if the situation need it. Has acquired a lot of  
special defense abilities to protect his people as well as medical jutsu  
despite his family not 'needing' treatment. Specializes in wind jutsu and speed  
for combat with a large fan helping his wind jutsu. He has a good heart that  
is always willing to help someone in need if he's able to but shows no mercy  
for the wicked or those who would want to harm his family or village.  
Has many special abilities from books and has affinity for all elements.  
Is 34 years older than Mio and has curly dark blue hair and neon green eyes. **Reset**

 **Married to civilian Emi  
** Is a kind hearted woman who focuses on the joys in life, ensuring that  
Taro has a positive outlook whenever he needs to make an important decision.  
Despite being a civilian she understands ninjas very well and as such  
is very happy to be apart of the more lighthearted Masago clan and help Taro  
come to important decisions whenever he wants to discuss something.  
Is 33 years older than Mio and has straight brown hair and brown eyes.

 **Gave birth to one son one daughter  
Setsuko Masago and Sho Masago**

 **Ichigo Masago  
** She has an amazing control of her emotions and thanks to that has gotten a high  
position within the TAI (Torture and intelligence) department of Sunagakure. She rarely  
interacts with others outside of the Masago clan and rarely shows any emotions on her face.  
She's able to easily pick apart someone just by looking at them and thus able to cause just  
as much harm as she can do good from it. Has no main weapon but rather focuses on hand to hand  
combat and traps she sets up as precautions.  
Main elements are water, earth and lightning.  
Is 26 years older than Mio and has straight dark red hair and blue eyes. **  
**

 **Married to ninja Daisuke  
** Is overall very serious but always has a playful side when it comes to interacting  
with his son or wife. Specializes in mid-range combat using puppets and elemental  
jutsus. Focuses heavily on chakra control due to his reserves in chakra and  
is a very skilled fighter.  
Main element is fire.  
Is 27 years older than Mio and has curly blonde hair and brown eyes.

 **Gave birth to one son  
Yuuto Masago**

 **Hiro Masago  
** Is the father to Mio and is a playful and lighthearted man. He tries  
his best to keep his family happy and content despite being away on missions  
so often. He makes sure to always spend time with his daughter and wife whenever  
he's able and is determined to never lie to his loved ones. Where he's  
kindhearted towards his family he's anything but towards his enemies, using intimidation  
and torture tactics if necessary which has earned him the title 'Cold blood Hiro' in  
the bingo books. He uses hand to hand combat and point blank jutsus as well as  
increasing his strength with chakra. This is something he's taught his daughter to do  
as well.  
Main elements are fire, lightning and earth.  
He is 25 years older than Mio and has spiky dark red hair and green eyes.

 **Married to civilian Hanami  
** A very patient woman who usually takes things in stride to try and solve a situation as  
efficiently as possible. She tries her best to raise her daughter well while her husband  
is away and always makes sure to greet her family back home with open arms. She can't always  
accept or understand the work of a ninja but she does her best to accept it all  
despite the job's cruel nature. Where she is understanding and kind she is  
also determined to make sure that her daughter won't be useless in the household.  
She is 23 years older than Mio and has curly clack hair and brown eyes.

 **Gave birth to one daughter  
Mio Masago**

 **Cousins**

 **Aiko Masago  
** Is the oldest of all cousins and was previously thought to be clan head before  
Yohio was born. While disappointed to not get the responsibility, she instead  
focused on her combat abilities so she'd be able to use every single weapon  
that exists efficiently. Through this she has no main combat style other than  
surprising enemies by her great versatility with ranged, mid range and close combat  
using weaponry. Being the oldest she has a tendency to tease and poke fun on her younger  
cousins and sibling which she says is a way to display her affection. She likes seeing  
other people's reactions to what she says and does and can be a bit of a trickster.  
Main elements are Wind and earth  
She is 14 years older than Mio and has straight dark green hair and baby blue eyes. **  
**

 **Is girlfriend to Kai**

 **Sho Masago  
** Is the twin brother to Setsuko. He often has prank wars with his sister where his pranks are mostly  
well calculated to what reactions his sister would take for the best prank. He can be seen as  
serious, often being compared to his father in personality, with a playful streak when around his  
younger cousins and sister. Although he could go up in rank from Chuunin if  
he wanted to, he's determined to stay by his sister's side to protect her and be her support  
in combat. He uses kenjutsu in and a few mid-range jutsus to accommodate for his sister.  
Main element is fire  
He is 10 years older than Mio and has spiky blue hair with brown eyes.

 **Setsuko Masago  
** Is the older twin sister to Sho. During prank wars she mostly does what she thinks is fun  
rather than focusing if the prank will actually succeed or not. She implores help from others  
more often than Sho and has a cheerful and carefree personality that can be compared to her mother.  
She makes sure to look out for others in her family when she can and is always willing to help  
in any task needing her specialty. It takes a while to make her trust someone outside of family  
but once she does trust someone she'll always be a friend they can count on. She uses  
Genjutsu in battle to trick her enemies and uses a kusurigana in combat.  
Main elements are earth and wind.  
She is 10 years older than Mio and has slightly curly dark blue hair and brown eyes. **  
**

 **Yohio Masago  
** Is the next in line for being clan head and very proud for the honor of leading his family.  
Was nervous once Mio was born that she'd take his position, which she almost did, but felt a bit  
guilty when he was worried about it without asking for her own opinion. He is not too determined  
when it comes to physical strength or training, rather wanting to learn about the world around him  
and the history in the different lands. He has good control of his emotions when  
needed but prefers to have a positive outlook in life and encourages teamwork and friendship heavily.  
He's not a stranger to manipulating people to  
his desires and makes sure that the outcome will always benefit the clan. Being well-versed in  
politics and lore he has studied hard to understand the weight that comes with leading the  
Masago clan. Focuses on puppetry during combat but also have a lot of nasty  
Jutsu and close combat abilities to surprise enemies with if they get past his puppets.  
Has many different abilities from games and has affinity for all elements.  
Is 7 years older than Mio and has spiky dark green hair and neon purple eyes. **Reset  
**

 **Yuuto Masago  
** Being a single child to Ichigo and Daisuke he's somewhat spoiled but with a good head on his  
shoulders. Always makes sure to look out for his youngest cousin when needed and immediately  
took up the brotherly role so he could have someone he could call little sister. Is overall serious with  
a playful streak much like his father and always tries to stay one step ahead of others to assure  
safety in this dangerous world. Due to this he focuses on speed, very much a hit and run  
type of combat, and dances around his combat using two short tanto swords as weapons.  
Is always willing to help a family or team member if they need it and has a bad habit  
of putting others in front of himself much like Mio. Despite advice from his mother  
he's not that good at controlling his emotions yet but he will get there someday.  
Main elements are lightning and fire.  
He is 4 years older than Mio and has straight dark blue hair and brown eyes.

 **Mio Masago  
** Main character of the story and is a real _brat_ when it comes to wanting things to go her way.  
Was originally going to be the head of the clan when people realized she had more  
determination to be stronger than Yohio does but ultimately refused the position  
due to her own insecurities and temper issues.  
Is amazingly stubborn and refuses to admit defeat in any tough situation she's in  
but often tends to blame herself when a major failure comes her way. While her self-confidence  
in her abilities and morals are great her self-love is one of the worst where she doesn't want to  
accept her wrongs nor her failures. She's a perfectionist to the core and has a bad temper when  
it comes to people using other people, her own self worth or her abilities as a ninja. Fights mostly  
hand-to-hand combat but also uses a combination of Bo-staff and tonfa weaponry. Rarely  
uses kunai and has jutsu that can deal a lot of damage if needed.  
Has many different abilities from Anime/manga and has affinity for all elements.  
Is, well, Mio and has messy curly red hair and neon pink eyes. **Reset**

I thought it was good to include a bit of my own notes on their personalities in the family tree as well, I hope this helps you understand the characters in the story a little. Their personalities have been shown in the story but since Mio has always been the main focus it could've been hard to pick up on. Here are a bit of Mio's current abilities, just a few of them and not all.

 **Mio abilities**

Crush magic (Active) Level: 1

+Allows the user to crush anything in their path with devastating force with a huge variety of methods. This ability is mainly focused on destroying things in cube parts that will fall apart. If the user is too unfocused while this ability is active they can accidentally break objects around them and will have an enormous strength that they're unable to control.

+Crush force: Can touch any surface and crush it into cubes to either destroy a building or soften the ground underneath them. This does not apply to living beings, only objects or surfaces. CP cost: 3000/activation

+Crush infused punch: Infuses their fist with the crush ability to punch their opponent with devastating force that can make the target fly through mountains or up into space. Any solid surface this punch comes in direct contact with will break into cubes over a large area. CP cost: 5000 CP/activation 3000 CP/Min (x500%-x2000% DMG)

+Crash beam: Unleashes a beam of crash magic from their hand that expand towards their target. It holds a tremendous force behind it but can be altered into a weaker version if less chakra is applied. CP cost: 6000 CP/activation

+Disassemble: Creates a net with the crush ability that they can launch towards a target or a jutsu to disassemble it into cubes and disperse. Any human hit with this technique will be disassembled into man miniature versions of themselves. CP cost: 10 000 CP/activation

+Reassemble: Can reassemble what the user has crushed earlier if the pieces are still intact. CP cost: 5000 CP/activation

+All crush: Unleashes a cross of crush energy that disintegrates anything in its way. CP cost: 40 000 CP/activation (one hit ko)

Gamer's mind (Passive) Level: MAX

+Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Enables a calm and peaceful mindset and immunity to psychological status effects.

+Provides a mental shield against memory modifications and alteration of any kind where someone can see the users memories of the past. This shield allows only those members of the clan who has been reborn to penetrate it, no other chakra signature can

Gamer's body (Passive) Level: MAX

+Grants a body that allows the user to live real life as a game.

+sleeping fully recovers HP and CP and removes all negative status effects.

Reset user (Passive) Level: MAX

+A rarity in the clan that gives you a permanent boost in EXP of any kind to give you an edge over the rest of the clan.

+Has memories of your past life about this worlds future that could decide the fate of those around you. Memory status: Unlocked

+Has access to the special library in the shop and can also adjust a party members status as well as their title. Party members cannot see if you adjust their status unless they too are a reset user.

+Is able to create their own Jutsus based off their memories of the past to share with the rest of the clan.

+Will recieve more quests for extra EXP

Poison resistance (Passive) Level: 14 EXP: 65%

+Represent how much poison resistance the user has against any kind of poison.

+14% chance to not be affected, 100% chance for mild poisoning.

+28% chance of curing poisoning that has affected the user.

As I said only a few of Mio's abilities. I doubt all of you wanna see the full list of passive abilities she has and you've already seen all the jutsus she can use. Or at least that she's thought about the jutsu she knows. If you want me to expand on the list of her abilities I'd gladly do so but please tell me if that's the case. I'm uncertain if it'd be interesting to see as I'm mostly keeping her abilities on the down low in favor to the story.


	26. Loss

I'm back!

Summer has been suuuuper busy so this took a bit to puzzle up. But now it's here! next chapter. Yay! This one is much longer than I usually try to make them, about 4000 words longer, so this is kind of a double chapter since I couldn't find a good place to end it until, well... the end in this one. This is a bit more intense, seeing as how last chapter ended, so I hope you all enjoyed it. I did my best! ^^

* * *

 **Warning: self-demeaning thoughts, kinda.  
(should I continue to put warnings or no? only when its SUPER intense?)**

Loss

I woke up the next day in my bed with nightmares plaguing my mind; apparently I fell asleep? The nightmares of my past has never subsided and the flashes of death get mixed into a bloody mess in my dreams, I've always hated sleeping due to this. And since I always have nightmares, something Yohio has said would always be present only less as time goes by, I've slept maybe 10 times at most during my 8 - almost 9- year long life.

I slowly sit up in bed, mind still fuzzy from my earlier nightmares and my heart is beating fast within my chest; I usually don't sleep on my own accord so someone must have forced me to fall asleep. But who did it and why?

A flood of memories from the day prior invade my senses and I tense up as an array of different emotions filters through my mind. Unease, confusion, horror, fear, relief, shock, anger. My chakra is churning in my chest just like my stomach and I quickly force down the bile that's threatening to rise in my throat when I remember the sensations of multiple reloads; if I remember it all so clearly it must've happened for real then, it's rare that I remember my dreams or that I have any that are somewhat pleasant.

Sho was stated as dead, gone from our list…

To confirm this, I quickly bring up the call menu and scroll through my family member's names; to try and find my cousin's name there as some kind of miracle. But where Sho's name usually is after Setsuko, there's nothing. Only Taro's name who has taken up that place instead…

I let out a shuddering breath, closing the menu as I rub my eyes in preparation for the incoming waterworks; the fact that my cousin has died hasn't properly registered yet but I'm certain it will soon. As I sit in bed and go through memories of me and the two twins, mostly consisting of the many pranks I've joined them in, a heavy lump of shame and sadness grows in my chest. It grows and grows for every happy memory I have of my cousin but despite all of this, despite _wanting_ to cry for my cousin's demise, I can't….

This notion confuses and frustrates me a great deal; the gamer's mind hasn't been as picky to not let me grieve or feel fear before, so now when I _want_ to grieve I can't? Now when I want to be sad over the passing of my cousin; to scream in anguish at the heavens aimed towards the one who managed to kill him, I'm not _able_ to? What the fuck is _wrong_ with me?

The sadness that I'm holding inside my chest quickly turns into a burning _rage_ at this notion and I throw the covers off my legs to stand up. I have to quickly run down towards the bathroom just beside my room and I manage to just reach the toilet before the contents of my stomach escapes me. I'm just so _angry_ as I continue to hulk over the toilet, the memories of the constant reloads making me dizzy and nauseous to accompany my anger. The burning feeling from my chakra is spreading through my whole body and I can hear a loud "crack!" from the wall I'm supporting my hand against as I'm leaning over the toilet; the angrier I am the harder it is to control my Crush chakra. And since I'm not fucking _allowed_ to feel grief over my cousin's passing I can't _help_ but feel a burning rage; when I don't need it to work, the gamer's mind works, but when I DO need it it doesn't?!

I don't _want_ to be angry! I don't want to destroy stuff and curse the world for being wrong just because it's wrong; I want to bawl my eyes out, feel heavy and lonely over the fact that my cousin _is not coming back_ to us. But because The Maker decides that _now_ is the time for the gamer's mind to properly work so I just fucking _can't_ feel any of that!

When nothing more is escaping my mouth and my stomach has stopped rebelling against me, I stand up with a frustrated and angry scream and grab onto my head so I won't touch anything. The anger in my chest only grows and grows when I think about Sho; how I'll never get to hear his laugh again, never hear his smart ass snide comments, how he'll never explain such an intricate and complicated prank plan for me ever again. I _want_ to feel sad; but I just feel _angry_ over the fact that someone has somehow taken him from me, and I'm absolutely _furious_ that I can't mourn him the way I want to!

"Mio? Mio are you awake?"

I can hear my mother's voice from downstairs and it snaps me out from my internal turmoil; right I'm not alone, I'm not alone in this world and I have people I can talk to. Taro and Yohio… They must know how and why it happened, I'm the only one that's supposed to be mortal within the Masago family; Sho shouldn't have been _able_ to die due to his saves. I try to open the door to the bathroom, not bothering to flush the toilet in case I accidentally break it with my unstable chakra; but when my hand comes in contact with the door knob, the whole door _explodes_ out from the bathroom into the hallway and only leaves the hinges behind and the doorknob hanging limp in my grip. I can hear my mother's surprised shout at the loud explosion and I step out from the bathroom onto the wooden splinters, said splinters digging painfully into my feet.

But I don't care…

I toss aside the metal handle I was holding, the metal warped and twisted under my hand as if I melted it, and walk down the hallway towards the stairs where I meet my mother. Her eyes are wide in worry when she sees the huge amount of wooden splinters on the floor behind me, taking a small step to the side so I can pass by her without fear of touching her. The wooden splinters are digging painfully into my feet for every step I take, but I don't _care_ ; I'd gladly embrace the pain if it somehow makes me cry, makes me sad and mourn. Makes me feel _something_ other than seething rage towards our Maker.

Because right now I'm just _furious_ at everything around me, and I hate it. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it all!

"M-Mio what-? You're leaving footprints! Please, calm down and let me take care of your-"

"Not now!"

I interrupt her sharply, immediately walking towards the door so I can get out of the house before I can destroy anything else that's more important, like my mother… Through the red haze in my mind and the burning anger of my chakra, I still have enough sense to know that I am not safe. No one should touch me and I shouldn't touch anyone, I'm not _safe_ to be around when I'm like this and especially not for my mother.

I'm just so _angry_ at the being we call god.

"I'm going to Taro! I need to know how-why- I need to know!"

I'm unable to steer my thought process very clearly and I can hear a loud 'crack!' Echo from the floor during my response. When I touch the door leading outside, it explodes outward and sprays wooden splinters all over the porch and sand covered ground; the sand dunes are larger than they usually are from the sandstorm but since the sun has risen above the horizon the danger has passed. I can feel my mother hover by the doorway as I make my way towards the largest house in the compound; my feet burning in pain from both splinters digging further into my flesh and now sand clinging to my fresh wounds.

But I just can't find myself to _care_.

"Taro!"

I scream out loud and clear towards the house, using a bit of chakra to amplify my voice; if I wake up the others in the compound so be it, I can't touch his door. I can feel Taro in there, he has to come out because I need answers; I want to know why and how, why and how for- for everything! He must know, he gotta know, he knows about everything that's going on within the clan so he can answer my questions. I stop in front of the porch, panting heavily for some unknown reason and a hand clutching onto my shirt in front of my heart, said organ beating erratically in my chest; I'm still dressed in a pajamas that I never use, a light blue one that's very comfortable. But I don't care about my state of clothing right now, it's the least of my worries.

"Taro come out! I'm _angry_! I'll destroy the door! Taro!"

I wait for a few more seconds, my body shaking as I futilely try to control the burning rage within me; I don't even remember why I'm angry anymore, I can't remember why I'm here in the first place. I just know Taro has answers, answers that I need, to questions I don't remember clearly. He has to tell me _why_ and _how_ , I have to know!

My patience is just about to run out when the door opens and Taro steps outside to meet me in the morning sun. His usually neatly brushed curly blue hair is in complete disarray around his head, his bangs; that I never get to see due to being brushed back Aizen-style; is shadowing his eyes almost completely. His usually lively neon green eyes are dull, as if he hasn't been sleeping well even if we as Masago don't _need_ sleep. Seeing that Taro is in such a disarray over Sho's death only makes me angrier; why does _he_ get to mourn when _I can't_!?

"Why do you get to mourn!? I want to mourn too! Why did he-!? How did it-!? WHY AM I SO FUCKING DIFFERENT!?"

I don't think about what I say or do soon after I see Taro, simply screaming out words that I can't fully understand while I sink to my knees and slam my fists into the ground. Loud 'cracks!' Spread from under my closed fists, but I don't care how far they spread. The action didn't ease up my anger in any way despite thinking that it would, I can only tremble on the ground as I'm fighting every angry instinct inside of me to destroy everything around me. I can't move, I shouldn't move, I can't move any closer or they'll be in danger. I look u from the ground to meet Taro's dull neon green eyes, watching as the clan head steps outside a little more; I can see a small frown on his face while he closes the door behind him, why is he _looking_ at me like that? Don't _look at me_ that way!

"Mio-"

"I want to know! I have to! I wanna cry, I wanna scream, I wanna be a fucking mess but I can't! I _can't_ Taro! What's _wrong_ with me!?"

I don't let him say anything, only screaming out more of my confusion as a desperate cry for help. _Help_ me, I don't get it, I don't understand what's going on and I don't understand why I'm so _angry_. Without any concerns to his own safety, he walks up to me and places a calming hand on top of my head; I can feel my chakra spark up, try to hurt and push the appendage away but Taro forces my chakra into submission with his own. After a battle of will between my chakra and his, mine finally pull back into a smaller ball inside my chest so I can rationalize my thoughts; a small dark of emotions within my chest that I can't reach, apparently my emotions are tied to my chakra? I wonder how Chakra exhaustion would be on me then...

My body stops trembling as Taro pulls away his hand to crouch down before me; I don't have the urge to hit something anymore, but now I can't feel anything. I'm just… numb. Like a limb that's been numbed by medical chakra, the same has happened to my emotions. I can't feel anything at all, only detachment as I blink up at Taro's crouched form. He has the same, blank look in his eyes; a similar version of detachment but for a completely different reason. His voice lacks emotion when he speaks but still has a serious undertone to it, like the Taro I know is still there but just damped down at the moment.

But I can't bring myself to care at this point, I just want answers.

"I'm sorry Cherry… I would've told you once you had been made chuunin. The people connected to the stories are what we call 'Deleters'. One such person killed Sho…"

I blink slowly once I receive this information, opening my mouth to answer in return. I don't recognize my own voice when I speak, so bland and almost lifeless; a huge contrast to the burning anger I was expressing previously. I'm not sure which I'd prefer at this point, to be able to think but be lifeless or be filled with rage but unable to think…

"So if we're killed by an important person in the story, you die…? Like I'd die? Why…? When?"

"When Shiro-sama was about to pass away he told us this message from the Maker. We became too many and too powerful so they- They instilled it as a challenge…"

"So… I became too many."

I say softly, looking down at the ground as I further process this; Shiro-sama died soon after I was born, the Maker gave Shiro-sama the message soon before his death. So through logic the Maker gave the message after my birth, that we have gotten too many and should be taken down a notch. So it's- It means that-.

"No, Mio. We all became too strong, there's nothing else to it. Don't blame yourself, nothing could be done…"

With that said, Taro gently ruffles my head and stand up; about to move back into his home to continue whatever he was doing previously. But he stops when a ringing noise of a phone travels through the air and I glance slightly to the side; I can see the small red pop up window of an incoming call and a quick glance towards Taro shows that he got the same thing. Someone's used mass call, a command you can only use vocally. I can only hope this is the mass call towards 'free' people and not those engaged in battle. The one who is calling is Yuuto, making me frown slightly as I press the green button to listen in and I hear Taro's voice both from in front of me and from the call line at the same time. Instant voice travel is awesome.

"Yuuto, what's your status?"

I glance towards Taro, blinking slowly as my emotions are still numbed down from his chakra; it sounds like Taro has been trying to contact Yuuto before, he sounds a little less emotionless. A bit more like the Taro I'm used to, serious yet kind. I can hear Yuuto's voice from the other end of the call, whispering softly as to not bring any attention to himself; thanks to our ability we can still hear his whispers clearly as if he's standing right next to us.

"Sorry Taro, a-anyone else... I've been captured…"

My eyes widen when I hear how _exhausted_ he is, the chakra within my chest flaring up when he is in such a weak condition. It also sounds like he's in pain or has trouble talking for some reason, this is something I _definitely_ care about and I sit up a little straighter on the ground seiza style. I continue to listen in, wanting a bit more information before I make myself known to my almost-brother; he wouldn't want me to come and save him but I will, I just need to know where he is… I look over at Taro when he sighs and covers his face with one of his hands, body tense but already in the process of formulating a plan of action judging from the twitching of his hands.

"The reloads… I'm sorry that they were hard on you too, I'll discuss a rescue team. Do you know your position and who your captors are?"

"Y-Yeah, I can still use voice commands… I'm captured by K-Konoha, position Y-15433 X+855. C-Close to Tanzaku Gai I t-think…"

An exact position and revelation of the enemy, this calling function is truly priceless to us Masago. I slowly stand up, swaying a little on my aching feet as I still have splinters inside of them but I couldn't care less about my physical condition. My cousin is in trouble…

"Good to know, we can't be certain how many deleters could be in there so stay useful and don't be killed. I'll be doing my best here on my end to try and get you-"

"I'm going."

I say loud and clear, effectively interrupting Taro in the call and making my uncle look over towards me. I can hear Yuuto draw in a quiet breath and mumble out a soft 'Mio' once I've made myself known but my focus is on Taro. This is the same kind of shit situation that I was in, only he isn't able to get himself out of it on his own. I straighten my back, the emotions in my chest flaring up stronger in determination in commedence to the anger; the council won't want to spend forces on saving Yuuto only to attack the camp he just revealed, but I'd make sure he'd stay safe.

"This is the same kind of shit show I was in and no one came to save me, I can use my ID to get there sooner without any danger. I can bring a force of ninja who can destroy the camp while I make sure Yuuto is rescued if you want that or something, just let me go to him."

My father suddenly joins in on the conversation, voice fierce, similar to Taro's, as he loudly states his protest against my idea. I didn't think he'd be able to join the call too…

"No you will _not_ go straight into enemy territory. It's way too dangerous for you, you aren't even a _chuunin_ yet! Stay home, you can't handle-"

"Yes I can!"

I interrupt my father sharply, the anger in my chest rising further at his refusal. I point out towards the village gates, absolutely serious about saving my surrogate brother now when we still know his exact location; we never know if it'll be changed tomorrow. I imagine that Taro is my father right now, as he's also opposed to my idea I'm sure, and I continue to make my point clear in the argument.

"What if they find out he's a Masago!? Those tree huggers won't sit idly by if they figure it out, they'll either kill him on the spot or move him to a more secure location! Either you bring me a group of ninja who want to join me in destroying this fucking camp or I'm going there myself! In _my_ story all major characters are from Konoha for fuck's sake, every single one of them could be a 'deleter' for all we know!"

Father has gone quiet in the conversation and I'm glaring angrily at Taro as he stares at me with a similar expression, neither of us yielding at the moment. I can hear Yuuto's quiet whispers of 'Mio stop', but I can't bring myself to care about his opinion right now. I'll save him one way or another, and it's only Taro and Yohio who are able to stop me from doing it. So if I manage to convince Taro right now, I'll be able to go and rescue Yuuto no problem; I'm strong enough to handle it if it's a surprise attack.

Finally, Taro yields with a heavy sigh, moving his hair away from his face while looking away from me. I can't help the fierce grin from spreading on my face due to the small victory.

"Alright, you do have a point… Give me three hours Mio, Yuuto be careful."

"I will… Thanks…"

I then end the call and quickly move towards my house; I have to remove the splinters from my feet and put on some real clothes. I can feel Taro's eyes following me as I walk towards my home but I don't care. All I care about is making sure that Yuuto will get home safe and sound, I don't care about anything else concerning this world right now.

It's my fault the deleters exist, they have fucking _lied_ to me for all these years saying that nothing can kill me when these deleters have clearly existed as long as I've been alive. If I had been found out by Kakashi all a year ago when he led me through Kusa, he'd have deleted me from existence and I'd be the first to die. They _lied_ to me about our immortality and he's lying now when he says it isn't my fault. I was damn lucky that I didn't want to die by trying stupid shit.

It's my fault our system got changed, it's my fault we have deleters, it's _my own_ fault that I can't save and it's _also_ my fault that Sho is dead. And I can't even mourn him for that!? That's just fucking bullshit!

So I don't care anymore, I don't care about how things go for me, I don't care if I get hurt or not and I don't fucking _care_ if they think I can't make it. Because what I do care about is to bring Yuuto back home, I can't lose another family member so soon and I refuse to let anyone stop me. If I have to go there alone to bring him back then so be it, I'll be a one man army and make them _regret_ ever putting their hands on my cousin. If I happen to die in the process, so be it, as long as I can make sure Yuuto is safe.

Because the family would've been much better off if I hadn't been born in the first place, I'm sure it'll all go back to normal and be better for them if i happen to die in the process. They won't lose anything from it.

And I can't bring myself to _care_ about my life right now, It's been messed up from the very start.

* * *

I gave Taro the three hours he asked for. And now I'm standing in front of three squads of chuunin with 4 ninja in each squad with one jounin leading us all. 4 team squads of chuunin are more common in Suna actually, but 3 team squads are more efficient depending on the skill set. My team will be one of those 3 man team once we become chuunin, unless Yohio suddenly shoves a fourth person on us which I highly doubt. So while I've dressed up in my normal ninja garb; T-shirt, shorts, desert cape, sandals and bandages wrapped around my forearms and hands to try and get more control over my crash chakra; the others are all dressed in the typical Suna shinobi gear of black long sleeves, cargo pants and chuunin vest. Not a single one of them dress up in a unique way, it's pretty bland…

The jounin has been standing next to me while we've waited for the rest of the team to arrive during these last 10 minutes, he isn't speaking to me at all and barely gives me even a glance. As I look over all ninja who are present I start to frown slightly; how exactly am I going to bring all of them with me? I don't exactly have an area of effect for my ID creation, it's a touch ability where they have to physically touch me or someone else who is touching me to pass through. Although I haven't really experimented with it beforehand, maybe that's a thing I should do once I've gotten Yuuto out of konoha custody. So i guess it's the normal chain thing to bring everyone into the ID...

The anger within my chest is still there, simmering just underneath the surface and ready to bust out once more at any given opportunity. But so far my chakra is stable enough where I can control it, my Crush chakra shouldn't act up as long as I manage to keep my temper under wraps. I doubt I'll be able to however… This whole situation is just- they _lied_ to me. And my gamer's mind doesn't let me _mourn_ for what happened. It's all just a pile of bullshit stacked upon another pile of bullshit. I have to turn my attention towards the jounin beside me once he starts to speak to everyone present, squeezing my arms in an attempt to distract myself from the current situation.

"Alright, that's everyone! We've gotten information that Konoha has a base camp close to our borders. We shall travel through Mio Masagos dimension portal to reach our destination unnoticed! Our mission is to destroy their encampment and bring any living prisoner back to Sunagakure. We can expect harsh resistance due to the nature of this camp, but we will have the upper hand through surprise. Don't falter! As long as we act quickly the major threats can be eliminated."

All ninja present nod slightly in agreement and glance towards each other, they all seem determined enough to succeed. I know their priority is to destroy the camp, as should be my own official assignment, but my real priority is to save my cousin at all cost. I don't give a shit about these strangers as long as my cousin is in danger, if I can just reach my cousin and make sure he's safe I'll take care of these guys too. I just hope we don't meet any jounin there…

Or it might be good if we meet many jounin. I could go all out…

I quickly shake those thoughts from my head and take a step forward, holding out my hands towards the large group of ninja. I recognize some of them, they've joined me on zombie hunts before but I have no clue what their names are and I'm not in the mood to observe every single one of them. These people, those 4 who has joined me previously and know what to do, immediately step forward to grasp onto my hands and arms. I stare at the other ninja present, eyes narrowed at their plain confusion.

"I'll be transferring us now, if you don't want to be left behind I suggest you either touch me or a comrade who's touching me. I can only transport people who are connected through touch so far."

Once I've said that the others quickly join in, a bit awkwardly touching their comrades. The jounin, I think his name was Saeki, places a hand on my shoulder and gives me a slight nod to start. I then transfer us into the time lapse world with all three squads joining me in the trip. I don't let their confused and uneasy expressions distract me as I bound off in the direction of Hi no Kuni territory with the jounin running next to me. While I might be slower than they are I'm far from being _slow_ , and with the time lapse 30 minutes is 1 minute in the real world so we don't have to feel pressured for time.

"What exactly is this, child?"

I glance up towards the jounin when he addresses me, seeing the frown on his face before I direct my gaze forward once more. What's he onto?

"I'm Mio, not _child_. And you said it yourself, an dimension portal of sorts, but in this one time moves more slowly. Why do you even have to ask?"

The jounin doesn't answer me on that but focus on running instead, which in turn makes me frown further. What the hell was that about? Stupid ninja and their sneaky ways, it's the one thing I hate about my occupation. I'm not a fan of lying, at all, so when I'm surrounded by people who specialize in lying and deceit it makes me a bit uncomfortable.

But oh well. As long as I can save my cousin I don't care shit about anything else.

"How did Taro-san come across this information?"

"Why the hell should I answer you when Taro didn't?"

I ask in return, using a slight burst of crush chakra to bound further ahead so I don't have to talk to the squadron leader. I really hate ninja talk, I can't figure out what they want due to my own more honest ideals. I'm more for a direct approach, not dancing around subjects. I'd rather leave that to Taro, Yohio or literally anyone else in my family; I may have high intelligence and wisdom stats but just because I have high stats doesn't mean I know how to use them properly. Intellect is nice for fuinjutsu and wisdom is nice to read expressions and chakra but other than that I don't use it much.

I take a deep breath of the chakra free air, clutching a hand to my chest as I'm struggling to push down the anger within my chest; I really don't want to screw anything up when it comes to our clan secrets so I don't want to answer any of his questions. I know the ground rules to our clan but other small things isn't something I know yet, I'll get to know of them once I've been made into a chuunin. I'm thankful for the silence while we're running through the desert as it gives me enough time to push down my chakra deep into my chest and get more control of my emotions; I'd rather not have it run amok and scare my current team, it would be less than efficial and it would immediately expose my 'ace' to a large amount of people all at once.

I glance back towards the ninja running behind me, the jounin flanking me on my right and the other chuunin following soon after us. To think that we don't have any more ninja than these to spare, it's a fucking base of operation for Konoha and they couldn't send another jounin with us? If I activate all my abilities I could hold my own against a jounin for maybe a minute or less, if this camp has more than 6 or 7 jounin we're as good as screwed. We are too few in number to overpower them and our skills are lacking for that kind of confrontation…

I can't help a small smile from growing on my face, a sudden twisted glee flaring up beside the anger within my chest; the Kazekage have basically sent us on a suicide mission in hope that it'll weaken Konoha enough that he can launch another stronger attack against them. So he finds me disposable huh? Well, I don't disagree with him on that part, I'm far from the most important Masago in the clan. Other people among the Masago have my kind of skill set, I don't doubt that Yohio can overpower me with one of his skills that he has and Chiyoko has way better sensing abilities than I have. The only thing I bring to the table is incomplete fuinjutsu and a stubbornness like no other.

Yeah I can see why I was sent along for this, no one really needs a bitch like myself. I'm sure Rasa would be delighted if I end up dying before I get the chance to show him my improved strength.

After we've been running for 5 hours straight I get a sudden call from Taro when me and the rest are getting closer to entering Kawa no kuni, so I answer the call and bring up the map so I can see the X and Y coordinates more clearly. I completely ignore the eyes I have on me while I speak with my clan head, being mindful of what I say.

"Taro? What's up?"

" **Mio, I need to assign you to a private mission, C to B rank depending on the resistance you'll face.** "

I can't help but smirk slightly, already suspecting what that might be; it's only been 10 minutes in the real world since we left suna so he's most likely calling immediately after our group got dispatched. I ignore the jounin's pointed look in my direction and nod for my clan head despite the fact that Taro can't see me, getting a personal mission won't make this assignment any less dangerous. I'll go down with a fucking bang to save my cousin from capture.

"I'm listening."

I can hear Taro sigh softly from the other end and I continue to run, despite the ache in my legs I refuse to stop moving. I might even increase my vitality through this, it normally takes around two days to reach Konoha borders while you're careful about enemies you might encounter. But thanks to my ID we can cut that time in half if we really want to, it's pretty neat.

" **Your mission will be to free Yuuto Masago and secure that no Masago get in the hands of Konoha. The main priority to the mission you're on is to destroy the encampment but I doubt you haven't realized the true intention to your group already… That's why you will have a mission of your own, we can't afford to lose any of you.** "

"Ah yeah it's strategy, I get it. Any particular reason why you feel the need to tell me something I already know?"

We have now entered Kawa no kuni borders and I shift slightly to move a bit north, Yuuto is more north-west from our current position and normally we'd have to slow down as we enter unknown territory. But thanks to me and my amazing ability, we can just continue to run without a care; though I'm starting to feel a bit of fatigue from running so long.

" **Because I don't doubt you'd focus on fighting otherwise, it's best to give you a mission now so you don't forget why you're going there.** "

That comment causes my steps to falter slightly in surprise, that he could've possibly picked up on that, only for an annoyed frown to appear on my face as my chakra is shimmering angrily underneath the surface. Does he think I can't handle myself in a fight? Is that it? I can fucking destroy it all if I really wanted to. The control of my temper and chakra is wavering slightly but I don't let myself think about that at the moment.

"Oh I don't forget so fucking easy. I'm not some crazy fighting maniac, you know, I only do it because I _have_ to."

I notice the jounin beside me motion towards the side and I nod in return, following him towards a hidden clearing where our group stops. I focus more on what Taro says than anything else, walking over towards a stone so I can sit down on it and rest my tired legs. I better get an increased Vitality point for this...

" **I know, Mio, I really do. You're a pure hearted girl who put others before yourself, but now it's** _ **important**_ **that you put yourself and Yuuto above the others. I can't-. We can't lose anyone else so soon… It's my duty to make sure you don't try to take on too much during this mission. As such you are assigned the mission to rescue Yuuto Masago and then get away from the battle, do** _ **not**_ **engage unless you have to in order to protect yourselves. Trust in each other and escape as soon as you're able and don't think about bringing anyone else into the ID with you other than Masago clan members. And that's-... That's an order.** "

I twitch when I receive the order, my chakra and limbs freezing up in a familiar and unpleasant sensation as I'm sitting on the rock I've claimed. I clench my hands tightly, glaring down at the ground as I try to wrestle my emotions back in control; he has no fucking _right_ to give me an order for something like that. I should fight! I want to fight for my life the way these chuunin will be doing! I'm the reason everything shitty has been happening to the Masago family, I caused the deleters to appear and thus I caused Sho's death. So if I die taking on a fight then so be it! I'd gladly accept any fight at this point, hell throw me at a jinjuriki and I'd be _delighted_ to try and take them down with me! So why the hell is he stripping away my right to fight my own battles!?

"Fuck you… That was such a low blow, I'm not here to be some _escort_! I'm here to fight, not-. I can destroy the whole camp with a single fucking punch if I want to!"

" **I'm sorry Mio but I have to make sure you return safely, you're on a suicide mission if the odds are stacked against you. We need intel on the encampment and need to take Yuuto back home, this was the only way to assure that happens.** "

I grit my teeth in frustration, body trembling as I'm still struggling to not let out my crush chakra. I can see a few cracks spread through the ground from my feet, but other than that I'm successful in keeping my chakra at bay. This isn't fair… This isn't fucking fair. I choke out a quiet "I understand" before Taro ends the call. The cold is still clutching onto my chakra as I look down at the ground, breathing in a few deep breaths while clutching the front of my shirt to get my anger back under control. I still can't fully understand _why_ I'm so damn angry about all of this; is anger just my natural substitute to any emotion I'm not allowed to feel through the gamer's mind? If it is, that'd explain so damn much; I _hate_ being angry like this for no reason.

Why can't I just _cry_ and be _sad_ for once…!?

I raise a fists above my head and slam it down onto the stone I'm sitting on, effectively destroying it and making me fall down onto my back with rubble surrounding me. I ignore everything and just stare up at the sky with an angry frown for the rest of our break, silently cursing the person who killed Sho and made me descend into constant anger once more. I was like this in the past, where anything no matter big or small could trigger my rage, and not all the time I spent improving on my temper is thrown down the drain because the fucking gamer's mind is malfunctioning. It's both a blessing and a curse...

After the break I have to focus on getting Yuuto back home. And try to not get so angry over the orders I received that I accidentally hurt him…

* * *

I stop in the middle of a large clearing and look around, double checking with my map and nodding as it has the right coordinates. We're here; after one and a half day of traveling, where we camped out within my ID because I didn't want to bring us out of it to waste time, we have reached the destination. A total of 32 hours of traveling, shortened down to 64 minutes in the real world. I turn towards the Jounin of our group, my chakra still churning angrily under my skin as I give him a nod as well.

"This is it, it's within this small clearing that their encampment is or at least around this area. I suggest either-."

"Good, now you can let _me_ handle the rest. You've done your part."

I twitch and glare hard at the man for his rude interruption, fists clenched angrily at my sides. He's meeting my stare without flinching, firm on his choice and conveying that I should back down through his silent glare. Right, he's my superior, I'm only a genin and this man wouldn't be someone who'd listen to my opinion. Most jounin are like that towards genin unless they're a teacher… So no matter how much I detest bowing down for his decision, I have to do as he says and I look down towards the ground to show I understand his message. I don't like it, I don't like it one fucking bit, but I have to listen to his orders for now.

This is another part I don't like about being a ninja.

At least when I become chuunin my opinions and thoughts would be valid and matter, I can't wait for my promotion; there are a few nice jounin in Suna but they are few and far in between, most of them are hard regarding respect towards superiors and wouldn't hesitate to show others their place. Like Rasa for example, he's a bit on the hard edge on that point, but he's nice enough to put up with my constant challenges whenever I see him. He's been letting up on the 'respect your superiors' part a little since he realized I wouldn't listen to his argument but that's only because we were in the village, out here in the field it would only waste time if I try to argue like that.

Once everyone has gathered up the leader, still don't remember his name, decide that we should appear right outside the camp to take out the nearby scouts first before moving into the encampment itself. Saying that it'd lessen the casualties that way, maybe he's also realized that this is a suicide mission but he's taking it in stride to try and make everyone survive. If there are any deleters in here I doubt the Maker would let them die so soon and so easily, they'd undoubtedly be slaughtered due to the deleter's 'plot armor' they have. But I'll make sure that at least Yuuto and I survive…

"Mio, can you let out small groups at a time from here?"

I turn towards the jounin with a frown, shaking my head slightly and I try to keep my tone from being snappy in any way as I'm still irritated by his earlier dismissal.

"No, I can't. I need 30 minutes before I can use the ability again once I've either entered or exited the dimension. It's either everyone at once or the rest are stuck in here for a long time… 30 minutes here is 1 minute out in the real world, which would mean the team we leave behind would be alone in this space for 900 minutes, 15 hours, total until I can return, if I can return after 30 minutes that is. It's not optimal to disperse teams in short bursts."

I can hear the jounin scoff softly as he turns away from me and I can almost imagine him cursing how 'useless' my ability is as he's looking over all chuunin gathered in front of him, with me standing among the group at the front. The look on his face is making my blood boil, that he shows me such disrespect after I've let all of them enter my ID to get here unnoticed, and a small part of me hope he dies in battle. It's a larger part of me that says that than I'm comfortable with…

The jounin decides to go along with his first idea anyway and we all run away from the camp a good distance so we can exit the ID without any major fear of being noticed. So after another awkward ring of touching, with me taking many calming breaths to keep my chakra under control, all of us exit the ID through the sound of breaking glass within our heads and the sounds of nature immediately invade our senses. Everyone in the group are tense as we look around and I spread out my chakra sense to try and spot anyone. Chiyo wasn't kidding when she said the ogre ID was similar to Hi no kuni, it's all a bit muddled but not so much that it hinders me from sensing ninja from the pointers I received from my aunt.

Even if he didn't ask me to, I sign to the jounin that there are a group of 4 ninja in the trees northwest, 30 meter away from us. The jounin narrows his eyes a bit at me, displeased for a reason I cannot understand, and he nods towards one of the squads that they should take care of it. So the squad of 4 move ahead of us to where I directed them while the rest of us move in towards the camp behind them, keeping our chakra dimmed as we're getting closer to our goal.

I'm coming, Yuuto.

The infiltration goes smooth right until we reach just outside the main clearing, here is where the main force of the camp starts and we have to be careful as to not be seen by them; there are a few konoha ninja standing at the edge of the camp, relaxed but tense as they're conversing about mundane stuff. I recognize none of them... While the chuunin follow the jounin's quiet command to take them out, I slip away from the group using my stealth ability and make my way around the camp to where I can sense Yuuto's chakra. He's at the north side of the camp where there are most chakra signatures so I'll circle around the camp until I reach that side, once I reach it I'm sure the others will draw attention from the other ninja in the camp and the majority of the force guarding Yuuto will be drawn away so I can slip inside.

No one seems to notice my departure and I keep to the shadows with my skill still active. With a reduction of my speed by 85% I'm a lot slower than I'd have liked, but thanks to my ability being level 20 through the many times I've honed the skill I have an 80% increase to my stealth. This makes it much easier to quiet my footsteps and hide my presence from my enemies, I'm very glad that I got introduced to this ability so early in life. The only downside to this ability is how slow you become while using it so it's useless when you have to move fast while being stealthy, but if you have time the increased stealth is highly appreciated.

When I reach the wooden building Yuuto is close to, his chakra shining like a bright beacon to my senses, the commotion of battle has indeed drawn the majority of the forces away from it. This wooden building doesn't seem that old, maybe a year or two and has most likely been built in preparation for the war. Yuuto is a little bit underground, most likely a bunker, so I have to dig underground so I won't be noticed. Or I could just knock out the guards and-

My thoughts are immediately cut off by a sharp, cold pain within my chakra, making me clutch the front of my shirt as I'm duly reminded of the order Taro gave me previously. Fucking damn it… Digging underground it is then. Since I don't know any earth jutsu yet, I'll have to make due with my crush chakra to do it; I just hope I won't destroy too much of everything in the process as I have to be very careful with how it's used.

I take a deep breath and crouch down, my stealth ability still active as I focus my crush chakra on the ground underneath me. I let it break down the ground around me, slowly lowering me to the ground as the sounds of battle starts to escalate and get closer to my position. This causes me to stop and clench my hands in irritation, I just don't have the time to do this discretely if I want to reach Yuuto before anyone else get the opportunity to notice me. The timer for my ID has only gone down by 2 minutes, no more, so I have to grab Yuuto and run away until I can use my ID again.

So still holding onto my stealth ability, I run towards the back wall of the building and let a burst of crash chakra expand from my body so I can enter the building without any resistance; the wood crumbles and breaks apart before I reach it so I don't have to slow down to enter it. I ignore the shocked shouts of people from inside, dropping my stealth ability to activate my swift agility and immediately run down the stairs I can see in front of me. While I still have the upper hand, I shoot out a beam of crash chakra on the ceiling behind me to make the path behind me get blocked by cubes of dirt, stone and wood to buy me some time.

I ignore the other few doors, or cells, that I run past and stop in front of Yuuto's cell, all of them are surrounded by a soft glow of chakra that obviously point towards a seal to which the seal is hidden on the door through genjutsu. I place my hand against the hidden seal and flare my chakra to make it visible, letting me see its patterns and determine what part I need to break to break the seal correctly. I can hear resistance from the makeshift blockage I made while my mind is racing against time, biting my lip as I reach into my pouch and take out a kunai so I can disrupt the seal properly. I know that this is a death seal, it's something anyone would use on a prison cell as it'd kill the person inside if someone were to try and open it by force. It's one of the first variations of seals I taught myself to break, since many of the main country use them to host war prisoners, but I never imagined Konoha would be cautious enough to use these seals on a small prison like this.

I quickly disrupt the seal by cutting through its power connection point and I feel the chakra sputter out within Yuuto's cell. When I feel the seal die, I grab the handle and use my increased strength from my crush chakra to tear it away from its hinges. A wave of relief flood through my system when I see Yuuto's wide eyed expression stare at me, my cousin being tied to a chair in the middle of the room.

"Yuuto! I-"

I'm cut off by a large explosion coming from the hallway and I look over just in time to dodge a kunai to my face. I swear loudly when I see three ninja run towards me, they've already broken through!? Fucking damn it! I quickly enter Yuuto's cell and aim another Crush beam to the ceiling, once again collapsing the entrance to buy some time. I run towards Yuuto and cut off his bonds using my kunai, handing him a health potion while he's rubbing his wrists and looking at me with that same surprised expression on his face.

"Here, drink! Anything they've taken we can buy again, let's go."

"I- Alright."

He doesn't argue and quickly down the health potion while I spread my senses to find the best exit for us, the best angle where we can burst through from the ground. There are chakra signatures around the whole camp, fighting each other and some dying out one after another. And most of them are Suna signatures, we're losing the battle fairly quickly so we can't expect any kind of backup when we get out… The three ninja outside the cell are still there and I can feel them gather up chakra to break through my barricade, we need to leave and we need to leave fast. I could make a way for Yuuto and stay behi-

My thoughts are once again cut off by a cold pain within my core, making me curse silently once more while I aim both hands up towards the ceiling in the direction away from the center of the camp and gather my chakra into said limbs. My body is trembling from the use of crush chakra, but that doesn't matter at the moment. If I can't find an exit, I just have to make one myself. This might break my arms, but I need to do this in order to survive.

"You grab me and run once I've made a way for us, alright!?"

"W-What!? Mio sto-"

"All crush!"

I scream out loudly as I release my chakra blast in the form of a cross shape in the earth separating us from the surface, the recoil of the most powerful ability in my arsenal sending me crashing into the wall opposite of where I'm aiming. My arms are burning in pain and when I try to move them I can't; a pained grunt escapes me at the searing hot _pain_ rushing through my arms and body but this isn't so bad, as long as I made a way out I don't care if I'm in pain. I can feel Yuuto put his arms around me, jostling my arms and making a cry of pain escape me. I can hear my cousin apologise softly to me before we start to move, away from the fight and away from the people following us. Yuuto is a lot faster than I am so I'm confident in his ability to run on his own, but carrying me with him would undoubtedly slow him down. I also don't know what kind of condition he's in right now, he has been interrogated for an unknown amount of time before he was able to contact us for a rescue.

I risk a glance towards my health bar, just to see how much damage I took from that ability, and clench my teeth together in pained disbelief. A third of my health has dropped, a fucking third! It completely crushed my arms, holy fucking shit. Well if I ever want to die easily I could use this one at the start of the battle, but I think this will become more of a last resort than anything else. I'd still like to survive long enough to make sure Yuuto comes home safe, after that I'll-. I'll decide what I'll do then.

"Mio here, drink."

I can hear a distressed wobble to Yuutos voice as he speaks to me and I can soon feel a cold glass vial get pressed against my lips. I don't hesitate to drink the liquid, immediately recognizing the bitter taste of a health potion while I do and I can feel the pain in my arms dim as it's taking effect; really these things are a godsend. I thank the Maker for giving us small mercies in their unforgiving world by letting us have these potions, they cure fatigue and any wounds a Masago has when we drink them and do something similar to others though only temporarily. It's fucking amazing.

Once I've finished the vile, Yuuto stops to let me stand on my own and this is the first time I really pay attention to how he's doing, physically and mentally after being in Konoha's custody. And the condition he's in does _not_ make me pleased… He's pale to the skin and his pupils are dilated as if he's on drugs, he's panting heavily despite the short spurt he preformed; with his Vitality he shouldn't be winded from that; and his limbs are trembling lightly as if they've been put through the same strain mine has. His straight dark blue hair is matted with sweat and is clinging tightly to his forehead and some blood is still present on his skin, as the wounds have healed from the health potion to leave no trace of a wound behind. It shows both psychological and physical torture to get information…

My chakra is churning in anger towards the Konoha shinobi and I quickly steady my cousin when he was about to fall to the ground, a frustrated frown tugging on my lips as I'm trying to hold him up. Just what has he gone through in the hours he's been in their custody? I made SURE that we were moving as fast as we could so he wouldn't have to be there for too long, I'm at least glad I came when he wasn't in the middle of interrogation...

"Yuuto… poison?"

"Y-Yeah… I-... Thank you, Mio. How did you get to me?"

I smile at him, glad to see that he's somewhat okay and lead him to walk forward at a bit slower pace; we still need to get away as I can feel the battle a bit too close for comfort. And thanks to Yuuto having a health potion, my arms are completely healed.

"A squad acted as distraction… I got an underhanded mission from Taro to get you out, I don't know what Taro said to have the Kazekage send us all out to our deaths but I don't care. You're safe now and that's all that matters."

I tense up when I notice a chakra signature way too close to us, turning in the direction it's coming from and put myself in front of Yuuto to protect him. The ninja land heavily on the ground in front of us, the very ground shaking from his size and my eyes widen in horror at his appearance. I recognize this guy…

He has a dark green chest plate connected to leather shoulder pads, very large in size in both stomach and height and long, spiky red hair tied back with a bandana rather than a Konoha hitai ate. When he straighten up and look at the two of us with a frown on his face, I can feel the blood drain from my face when I recognize his purple markings on his cheeks. He's an Akimichi. Akimichi Chouza.

I take a step closer to Yuuto, encouraging him to step back while I take out a kunai to try and seem threatening. But the large man only frown at the two of us as if he's annoyed and I tense up further as a response. My heart is beating erratically in my chest, right now Konoha and Suna are enemies. He's a powerful jounin, part of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and not someone I could ever hope to take on no matter how powerful my Crush ability is.

And on top of all of this, he's a _deleter_ , a canon character within my story that would be able to kill any Masago if he wished. And right now he's staring down at me and Yuuto with a highly displeased expression, obviously here to either drag us back or kill us.

We're so dead…

* * *

And Chouza bounds into the scene! Just when they were about to escape too. :) So yeah, to explain Yuuto's predicament a little further for those who want to know: He was out in the field on an sabotage mission and was just running away when the multiple reloads happened. Since he, like Mio, hadn't experienced as many reloads yet he got affected in a similar way how Mio did. Due to Yuuto just suddenly falling to the ground below, the team had to leave him behind due to the ninja perusing them. And these Konoha took him into custody to find out how they knew what to sabotage.

Honestly, I had different ideas when I first started out this chapter but I'm really happy with the changes I've done. I hope you enjoy it as well! And that you're excited for the next one. ;3

 **This chapter's question:** I haven't specified that much of what they eat in Suna, so what do you think is the most popular dish in the desert? Just cause I'm curious.

 **Review replies:**

 **prisontaker:** He has not been sealed, but thank you for guessing! ^^

Praaaaaise be upon you.

Well, since an ability like that is already present in her arsenal I'd have to pass on that one. It sounds a lot similar to Overhaul. ^^"

Ooooh that with 'ability is what you're seen as' seems really interesting. :o The strength one might be a pass, since Mio already has that *cough*Cursh*cough* but to turn opinion into a power would be really cool. Thank you! I'll be sure to check it out to know better how it works.

Ok that does sound really cool... But I want her to use her dragon summon she'll get in the future so I have to pass on that one as well. I mean if she can transform into dragons, why would she use a very stubborn bunch of dragons?

Oooh that sounds very morbid. I like it, but I also have to consider Mio as a person, if she'd ever _want_ to have that kind of ability... I'll think about it thank you.

An extra!? Oh wow, thank you, it's like it's my birthday! :o

ooh that does sound like a reset/reload... I doubt I'd implement it, since the gamer's already have a save system only Mio can't use it, but thank you a lot for coming with the suggestion.

Then I'll continue to say thank you. I really appreciate your continued support. ^^ You've given me so many different and cool powers that I don't know what to do with them, which is a wonderful thing! I really can't thank you enough for liking my story and sticking with me and I hope you'll CONTINUE to like it as it will progress.

 **EmikoTsubasa bunnydragon:** Thank you for your guess but no, he never disappeared. He was simply away on a mission while it happened. ^^

Oh yes I understand what 4th July is, but since I never celebrate it it wouldn't feel like I'd do the occasion any justice if I write what I THINK they do during that holiday. We do have something similar in my own country but it's also vastly different, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone by interpenetrating their holiday wrong. I know I wouldn't be offended if someone interpenetrated my own holiday wrong but everyone are different. As such, I'd be a bit uncomfortable writing about 4th July and ESPECIALLY since Japan doesn't celebrate it either. I might do a new year's special, since I know how new years is in Japan, so that might be a special I do later during the year. Or a Christmas one. ^^

 **Cupcake:** Yes, Sasori! I'm sorry I haven't written about him in some time, there's still a lot of ground to cover when it comes to my lovable little ball of anger. ^^" And yes, it's mostly due to Yohio that his values of art changed early thanks to the two of them building puppets together. The two of them share an equal ideal that they'll create a puppet so great that it'll be used through the rest of time.

Well, deleter. Exactly HOW he died and by WHO... That's a question I won't answer as of yet. ;3 But I was very delighted by your reaction, thank you dear reader. The multiple reloads happened BECAUSE they couldn't return to an earlier savefile.

Yes, I was planning something. And now he's out... only for the two of them to jump out of the pan and into the fire. Sadly he was out in the field and I couldn't ignore it with the multiple reloads.

 **AnnaRozeDog:** Ooooh that sounds very interesting. Thank you! I'll be sure to check it out. ^^

Actually, yes! After your review I made a family tree for the Masago as I'm sure you noticed. I posted it before I posted this chapter and I hope you find it helpful. I added a bit of their personalities in there as well. I'm not that good at drawing, even if I did draw the story cover, but I might someday draw all of the family members. Thank you for asking for it or I would've never thought of posting one.


	27. Tense

Hey everyone I'm back!

Life is busy with an important event coming up so I kinda struggled to update before everything goes down. But hey I made it! Woop!

Since I first started writing this story and had many chapters in the drafts done, as I've been going through the chapters the story as a whole has derailed from my original line of thought. Which is fine and all, it shows that I'm taking a step back and analyzing the story of how it could be made better, but it does also make the chapters a bit more slow to write since I have to piece together what I can use from the 'old' version and put into the new one. I'll keep my schedule of posting every second week as well as I'm able but please don't hate me if I miss an update, life is busy.

I've also noticed many reviewers complaining about the pace of the story so I'll also try and jump back to the earlier chapters from ch 1-ch 8 and see if I can change anything up there. Because stuff doesn't really _happen_ until chapter 9 so I might throw away a chapter or two to make the pace flow easier. Nothin in the core story will change but I've heard your voices and I'll try and tweak it to suit more people's taste. Sure, not _everyone_ can like my story, many people hate the first person point of view that I'm writing in and can get derailed by the present tense which is fine. But if you see that chapters are missing, don't worry. It just me tweaking the speed of the story.

But now for the chapter, sorry for rambling. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Warning: Kinda self-hating thoughts**

 **Tense**

I curse loudly within my mind when Chouza Akimichi, father of Choji in the series I watched, lands in front of us with a displeased frown on his face. I react instinctively to put myself in front of Yuuto, since he's weaker than I at the moment, and pull out a kunai for some kind of defense. The large man brings forth the bo staff he's carrying on his back and stomp it against the ground as if it's a walking stick while he's gazing down at the two of us with his eyes 'closed', it seems like his eyes are closed but I know they're not. It's to prepare for battle, to bring his bo staff in front of him that is, so that he can block any of my attacks within a millisecond. As a bo staff user myself I know far too well the advantages of such a weapon...

And this whole situation is spelling out bad news for me and Yuuto.

"Children… were you the ones who made that explosion?"

I clench my teeth together, uncertain if I should say something in response and glance back towards Yuuto for some help. But my cousin is solely focused on the large Konoha ninja, gripping onto one of my shoulders with his hand shaking slightly; I'm not sure if it's from the poison or from fagitude that he's shaking, could be both, but he wouldn't feel enough fear to start shaking from it. Masagos don't feel fear like normal people do, we feel tense and uneasy instead. Unless you're a reset like I am that is.

"I-... You were really fast to get on our tail, Akimichi-san. I'm not sure if I should be frightened or honored that you came after us..."

I try to stall for time, focusing back to Chouza and usher Yuuto further behind me while still holding onto my kunai in a steady grip. I could bring out my own bo staff but it's in my inventory at the moment, I don't want to reveal who I am to a konoha ninja just yet, not when I haven't even been made into a chuunin. Being a Masago and getting discovered early, a Masago 'special' even, would only spell out bad news for me. I'd want Yuuto to run ahead of me while I hold Chouza off as long as I'm able, but it'd be impossible for me to do that with the orders I received from Taro earlier. It'd be for the best if I died to protect my family but I can't even do that right, fuck you Taro, you owe me so much if I get back from this.

I hear Chouza let out a soft hum in thought, the low baritone of his voice almost rattling the bones inside my body; must be some kind of chakra effect as there's no way I'd be able to feel it from this distance, he's trying to intimidate us. Ultimately failing to do so since we are both Masago but he doesn't need to know that.

"For someone so young to be a part of the war already… What's your age?"

I grin slightly, thankful that he's catching onto my bait for small talk; it'll give me a bit more time to think. I have to get us out of this situation or we're both screwed, but I haven't even started to try and come up with scenarios where we might survive. What would Yohio do…? What would Natsu do? Think!

"I'm eight, soon nine… I've been carrying the headband since I was seven. This guy here is 13 and I wouldn't try touching him when I'm here if I were you."

Oh fuck fuck fuck why the hell did I say that!? Do I have a death wish!? Well yeah I do but I'm supposed to get both of us out of here alive! Chouza glances over to Yuuto who is still standing on shaky legs behind me and I can feel how my cousin is leaning his weight on my shoulder as support, anyone who said Konoha are the 'nice guy' and don't torture children are crazy. I can't read this guys features very well though and I can't risk mumbling out any ability right now, I have no clue how good his hearing is. A bit of good news is that no chakra are approaching us, they think the situation is handled with an Akimichi here to intercept us. Our chances of survival would only lower if more ninja join the fray...

"So you came to free a war prisoner… Is this boy really that important?"

I don't think I should answer that question, I really don't, but if it lets me and Yuuto get out of here alive I don't fucking care what I have to say. He's prying for information because of course he'd do that, but if it's information he wants I'd gladly give it in exchange for our lives.

"Not really but it was my demand to be sent here. I got assigned to him as my personal mission by being stubborn. He's-"

I cut myself off when I feel Yuuto squeeze my shoulder slightly, making me look up at him and break off my conversation with Chouza. My cousin is clearly still weak from whatever the Konoha ninja did to him but despite the current state of his body, he has a determined look in his eyes while he's looking at Chouza. I've seen that protective look before, whenever he stumbled upon me fighting kids from school, a fight that I wouldn't be able to win. Or if he ever saw me return home with a huge bruise or cut, he always hit me in the head for doing stupid stuff like getting myself hurt. He better not be thinking-

"Run… Get away, I'll handle it…"

I can only see red when he says that, as if he has any chance of surviving if I run, and before I knew it my elbow has already connected to his solar plexus with a slight burst of chakra in my jab to make Yuuto lose his breath. I catch his now unconscious body before he get the chance to hit the ground and hoist him up on my back despite the slight awkward hold on him due to my small frame, he might be a lot larger than I am but I'm still pretty damn strong thanks to all the training I've gone through and chakra running through my system. When I look up at Chouza once more a small voice in the back of my head take note that his right foot has slid back slightly. Is Chouza hesitating…?

"This boy is so important to you that you'd run headlong into enemy territory and even knock him out to keep him safe..."

Despite it only being said as a statement, I nod towards Chouza and shift my hold on my cousin so that I can bow towards the jounin without Yuuto slipping from my grasp. I don't bow my head but still keep eye contact with the larger ninja, it'd only be stupid of my to let the enemy out of my sight. If he's uncertain, this may be my only chance. Pride be damned, my own safety be damned, I'll say whatever is needed to make sure we get out of here alive.

"Please… Will you let us go? I could compensate with any minor information in return but any questions about the village as a whole I can't answer. I'm only a genin and don't care much for politics…"

Chouza seems to think about this for a long time, to which I keep my bowed position with bated breath; my knees starts to shake from the weight I'm putting on them from my bow and Yuuto is starting to slip from my grasp. I can feel a spike of chakra from the camp, showcasing that the battle is still ongoing much to my surprise, and Chouza turns towards the camp as well after the chakra burst. The large jounin lets out a loud sigh of defeat and mumbles softly to himself about one thing or another before he turn back towards me, his eyes are open now and no longer closed to slits which could be both good and bad. Will he let us go…?

"Then state your name. Tell me who you are."

I straighten from my bow, a bit of hope blossoming in my chest as I can once again stand in a comfortable position. With a slight nod towards the jounin I lift my head proudly without disturbing my unconscious cousin on my back. This might bite me in the ass later, most likely or definitely, as he's gathering info about a Suna protege before I can make a name for myself or get much stronger. But right now I couldn't care less… His gaze is telling me to not leave out anything important so I won't.

"My name is Mio Masago, genin of Sunagakure and second candidate as the head of our clan. I am the youngest of the Masago family and my wish is that I'll be strong enough where I don't have to kill in battle."

I stare deep into Chouza's eyes, unmoving as I tell him exactly who I am. He seems to think over this information for a little bit before he gives me a slight nod and put the bo staff into its sheath on his back. This makes me relax slightly and I hoist up my unconscious cousin further up my back; will he let us go now?

"A world without death… A naive notion but not an unpleasant one. You may leave, Mio-chan."

A wide smile spreads over my face and I nod one last time towards Chouza, this time as thanks, before I use chakra in my legs to bound off up into the tree tops and away from the encampment and the kind jounin. I let out a huge sigh of relief when I don't feel anyone following me and glance towards the timer to see how long I have to run and hide until I can enter my ID; 21 minutes left… The interaction with Chouza only took a few minutes but it felt like an eternity.

I succeeded in my mission to bring Yuuto back with me but I gave up information about myself as a price. If people come to try and assassinate me for being a Masago or something, I'd accept that. It'd either give me a reason to train or they'd succeed and end the misery I've been giving my family just by existing. If I hadn't existed, deleters would've never been a thing in this world where no one should be able to permanently kill us. If deleters didn't exist Sho wouldn't have died and if Sho hadn't died Setsuko wouldn't have reloaded as many times in a row as she did, which in turn lead to Yuuto's capture. His capture was my fault.

Just how all the misery and change that is happening to our family's system is my fault. It'd been much better off if I wasn't born in the first place… But for now I'll live to see my family smile again. I'll be alive as long as they want me to be, but if the opportunity presents itself where I can sacrifice my life for theirs I'd do it in a heartbeat.

* * *

One week after Yuuto's rescue from the Konoha camp, Setsuko returns back home.

She's a husk of her former self and Taro said her ability 'Gamer's mind' has broken somehow, that it's constantly on overdrive and thus leave her without any emotions whatsoever. We have all tried a different approach to make her talk to us, look at us, but she hasn't spoken a word nor looked anyone in the eye since she came home. I've seen Taro and Emi guiding her around the house and in the village as the girl doesn't move, eat or sleep on her own anymore. When me and Yohio spoke about it to Sasori he said that she's like a puppet with cut off strings.

And that's not too far from the truth.

Yuuto had a fast recovery once we returned home, thankfully, and he didn't hold a grudge against me for knocking him out the way I did. I made sure to visit him every day at the hospital as we hadn't been able to talk as much like we did when we were both in school, it was nice with a little familiarity with Yuuto before the emotional bomb of Setsuko arrived.

Rasa has returned to the village. Even if I told him that I'd never give up on fighting him, that I'd attack him every day if I had to prove I was strong, I didn't _want_ to fight him because there was so much going on with my family. He had a guarded look on his face when he spotted me but the confused gaze I could feel on my back when I simply walked away spoke volumes of how my challenges has become a normality both for him and for Suna as a whole.

But I just couldn't bring myself to care right now…

It's been 11 days since Yuuto's rescue and I'm sitting in Yuuto's room drawing calligraphy and fuinjutsu symbols for practice, to level up the skill of course. I can hear Yuuto's steady breathing as he's meditating to my right, to practice on his chakra flow and shift it according to the different hand signs without actually using them. Since I've felt the chakra shift through hand signs many times before, I'm here to keep check on his progress as Chiyoko is out in the war.

"You're doing tiger wrong."

"I'd _appreciate_ if you explained what I'm doing wrong then."

"How should I know? I just know you're doing it wrong, I don't really think of technicalities."

When Yuuto sighs loudly in defeat, I look up from my calligraphy papers to raise an eyebrow towards my cousin. He is looking out from his circular window, a small frown on his face as he's deep in thought; judging by how troubled Yuuto looks he's undoubtedly thinking about Setuko again. So I rise up from my lying position on the floor and sit down on the bed next to him in preparation for the deep conversation my cousin will want to engage in, he's had that kind of look in his eyes whenever he want to talk with me about deep stuff. Like philosophies, goals, life, that kind of stuff. Sure, he's an insufferable tease and a jerk of a brother when he wants to be but meaningful conversations are also important. And if I can help him sort out his thoughts I'd gladly participate even if I don't usually like it.

"Setsuko isn't coming back is she…?"

I'm about to say a snarky comment in return that 'she is back' but quickly cut it off before the words can even exit my mouth; I know what he means, the one who returned isn't our Setsuko. So I sigh and shrug slightly, shifting so I can lean against the wall and stare down at the fuinjutsu symbols strewn out over the floor in front of the bed; I have many pieces done that can be puzzled together into a new seal. But since no one has taught me how to do it yet, I can't do it…The curse of being a gamer I guess.

"I doubt it… With her gamer's mind broken there's not much we can do to help her. The Maker wouldn't be able to fix her for us either, if we could remove the ability completely it might just bring her back in the long run…"

"And leave her vulnerable to mental disabilities and genjutsu?"

I let out a heavy sigh and rub my forehead, struggling to fight down the irritation that's rising in my chest due to his naivety. He's just a kid, he hasn't lived a second life like I have, but sometimes it's easy to forget with how mature everyone are. Putting a hand on his arm, I lightly tug on it to make Yuuto look at me instead of out of the window; which he does a bit begrudgingly.

"Yuuto, it'd get worse if her gamer's mind does get fixed. Her brother, her other half, is _dead_ and she can't feel sad or mourn for him. That's why she's broken right now. I remember what it's like to mourn and I so desperately want to, but we can't; none of us can whether we like it or not. We turn to different emotions instead of mourning and it's having a toll on all of us, but mostly on Setsuko. If she ever got her gamer's mind fixed, what do you think she'd do first? What would be her drive for living?"

We are quiet for a few tense moments as Yuuto think over what I said, emotions flickering on and off in his eyes so fast that I can't catch it. He breaks eye contact with me and stares down at his lap, hands clenched into fists as he comes to his own conclusion over the subject. I pull my hand away from his arm, not asking what he thinks Setsuko would do as I think he came to the same conclusion as I have.

She'd be out for revenge most likely.

The silence continues between the two of us, comfortable with each other's presence but tense considering the current predicament of our clan. I'm just about to jump down to my fuinjutsu notes once more when Yuuto speaks up.

"What's it like…? To mourn someone."

I didn't really anticipate that kind of question so I can't help but freeze up when he asks about it. I bite my lip in thought and think back to my past life, where I lost grandparents I was close to and reckless friends; how I felt when I was at their funeral without being able to feel those emotions right now. It's hard to think back and not have your body react the way it reacted back then, it's a bit… unnerving. Reflexively, I reach up to clutch at the front of my shirt and take a deep breath to try and have my chakra under control; if I become angry that I can't feel any of this now it'd only end badly.

"It's suffocating… It feels like-. Like an invisible hand is clutching onto your throat from the inside constantly, so that you can barely speak. If you try to speak that lump prevents you from saying anything at all. Your chest feels empty, like you don't have a heart to love someone with now that the person is gone. You can't help but cry when you think about them when the death is recent, because you miss them so much."

I take another deep breath as I pull away a little from the memories of my past, since the anger that replaces any emotion I can't feel is slowly rising up in my chest. My head is screaming how it's not fair that I can't feel the way I want to, that it's not fair that Sho had to die and leave Setsuko like she is right now.

But the world isn't fair.

"People say it gets better with time but it doesn't. Every time you think about them, that phantom hand always squeezes at your throat to remind you that they're gone and not coming back. So mourning is far from pleasant… But I'd rather mourn than be constantly angry."

A warm hand settles on top of my head, lightly rubbing it and making my body relax at the familiar sensation. The anger in my chest dims when I look up at Yuuto, said teenager wearing a small yet sad smile on his face as he's rubbing my head. He doesn't say anything, only bringing me in for a hug and letting the side of my head lean against his shoulder; a side hug that is somewhat awkward. I let out a fond huff at his actions, shifting on the bed so I can hug him back properly with both arms wrapped around his waist; it's comfortable to hug someone, especially when it's making my chakra buzz happily. It keeps the anger and frustration away, something I very much appreciate.

Because no matter how unfair the world is, I don't _want_ to be angry at everything. But I just can't help it.

"Thanks Mio, for sharing. I can imagine it a little bit… And it's nice to know."

"Heh. Good to know that knowledge is of use to someone…"

I reply bitterly, pulling away from our hug and lightly pat Yuuto on the cheek with a small grin on my face. My 'brother' frown a bit at the cheek clap, poking my forehead in retaliation and pushes my head back a bit; my grin stays in tact as I step off the bed and onto the floor.

"Well, we're getting nowhere. If you really want to use stronger jutsu without hand signs and without saying its name, you gotta continue to practice. I don't got all day, I've got a zombie hunt scheduled in an hour."

Yuuto simply rolls his eyes, a fond smile on his face while he replies with a dull 'yes ma'am' and returns to his meditation position. I sit down amongst my calligraphy papers once more, practicing my strokes while I feel how Yuuto's chakra is shifting. No one in our clan is ok after this whole ordeal, everyone are a little bit broken while some have it easier to hide it than others. But we'll be ok eventually, as long as we have each other we'll pull through this ordeal and repair our slightly tattered bond within our clan.

If only I could find some way to reverse my existence so this would've never happened in the first place.

* * *

My target is in sight, level 17 zombie moving slowly through the streets.

I've been cut up, bruised and bitten many many times already but healing potions can take care of that. I need to be stronger, stronger so I can protect everyone, stronger so that I can be useful in battle. All my hunting targets are at least 9 levels above my own, my arms are shaking from the overuse of crush chakra but I don't care.

I need to level up, I need to be stronger.

So I jump down to attack my prey, the zombie dodges my first axe kick and the ground cracks loudly underneath my foot. The zombie lets out a loud screech to call for its allies, something I tried to prevent with my first attack but ultimately failed. I can sense many zombie signatures approach at a fast pace and I ready myself for another long and hard battle.

My body is aching painfully, a pain that the magical potions can't seem to dull anymore. My hands are shaking but I'm determined to hold a steady grip on my weapon as I try to bash in the chuunin zombie's head.

I'm fighting through pure will alone, fighting through the pain and fighting despite my body screaming at me to do otherwise. No matter how much pain my arms and legs are in, I'll continue to use my crush chakra. No matter how my knees quake I'll keep on standing so I can avoid the next hit. No matter how many kunai that gets embedded into my back, no matter how many gashes I get from claw marks and bite marks I continue to struggle through my low HP.

Because I need to be stronger, I need to be better and for that I need to push beyond my limits. I'm alone in here this time, alone in the zombie world so I can hunt freely without anyone telling me how it's 'too dangerous' for me to fight them alone.

I can do it, I can survive, I can get enough of a breather to chug a healing potion if I need to. I'm an expert on that now, drinking the potions, I need to be in order to stay alive and continue to fight.

Because I won't let my family suffer through anything else, I'll be strong enough so I can get out in the field and do some _good_ before I die. I'm useless to my family as I am now, useless and weak, I need to be stronger so I can protect them. So that I can make a difference and help them break free from the curse of deleters that I've forced upon them.

It'll be much better for everyone if I wasn't born in the first place, but if I'm still alive then I can still be of use. And as long as I can be of use I need to be stronger.

So I'll continue to fight on my own, I'll continue to struggle on my own so that I can become better and stronger for my family's safety. I need to survive whatever comes my way until I can give up my life to save theirs. I have to.

"All crush!"

* * *

"What is the meaning of this, girl?"

A monotone yet fierce voice coming from behind me makes me stop in the middle of a stride while I'm walking through Sunagakure to kill some time; I'd recognize that voice and chakra anywhere. I turn around half way and raise a hand in greeting towards a very irritated Rasa, forcing a small smile onto my lips while doing so; I have been avoiding him since Sho died, guess I didn't pay enough attention to my surroundings to avoid him this time…

"Oh hey Rasa. Nice, hot weather today ey?"

"You've been promoted to chuunin."

I blink and glance down at the beige vest I'm wearing, which signifies my new rank. Me and the boys got promoted to chuunin only yesterday, the vest is a bit too large for my short stature but I decided to wear it anyway just so the village would know that the trouble maker Mio is now a chuunin. Makoto and Natsu were pretty excited about it so we celebrated yesterday with barbecue. We're going to be sent out on our first mission only the three of us tomorrow so we have a day off to do whatever we wanted.

During the past three weeks leading up to my promotion I've managed to get some more skills that increase my strength stat passively. I haven't discovered any of those since I developed my own taijutsu style and it was with the help of Makoto, believe it or not. He was the one who wanted to test his strength against me through arm wrestling, trying to break a post with bare hands without using chakra and wrestling. I've managed to distract myself from Setsuko's current condition thanks to the two of them, Yohio rarely join in on our training anymore since he got more important stuff to do. It's nice to know that at least me and the boys will still be a team.

Coming back to reality I look back up at Rasa and shrug, turning so that I face the jounin fully with my hands comfortably settled into my pockets; doing so makes it a little easier to control my crush chakra away from my family.

"Ah yeah, it happened yesterday. I didn't think you'd be interested in it. Actually, why are you talking to me? I thought you'd be happy without my daily challenges thrown your way."

The future fourth Kazekage sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, mumbling softly to himself about one thing or the other. I'm not much for beating around the bush, there must be some kind of reason why Rasa called out for me. He hasn't cared much for me since the very beginning, why would he suddenly call out to me when I've been ignoring him like he has wanted me to do for the past two years?

"Follow me."

I blink curiously when Rasa suddenly turns around and walk to the right towards an alleyway, not looking towards me to see if I'll _actually_ follow him or not.

Though… It's Rasa so of course I'll follow him, got no reason not to.

So I follow him silently, trying to figure out where we are going and why Rasa decided to approach me; it might be because I've ignored him for the full month he's been in the village or because I recently got promoted. It's most likely the latter, Rasa isn't really the type of guy that'd care about my reasons for avoiding him. At least I don't think so, he doesn't strike me as that kind of guy, but he was kind of a good father towards Kankuro and Temari in the series I watched. Not so much towards Gaara because he wanted his kid to be the ultimate weapon for the village, but Sunagakure was kind of in an economical crisis back then. I hope that through the money they get from my ID that the economical crisis will lessen… I doubt it but it's still a nice thought.

Through becoming chuunin I now have a total of 37 fame points, that could also be a factor why Rasa decided to pay attention to me I guess. Now that I'm chuunin I get a passive 10% increased respect from Suna ninja, it's kinda nice to get nods of acknowledgement from my fellow ninja. I guess I should buy something from gamer's shop to celebrate my promotion, I still haven't done that since I've been too focused on my SSP powers. In the shop there are a lot of different summoning scrolls, which I don't care for since I'm aiming for my quest summoning scroll, a few energy jutsus and jutsu scrolls for C-S rank of all elements, which might include Yin and Yang release. It even has elemental affinities scrolls for the Masago who aren't a Reset like I am. I should look further into those options today after Rasa is done with whatever he wanna tell me, it would be a faster way to learn jutsus than have my family teach me.

Once I pay attention to my surroundings again and don't follow Rasa blindly, I notice that we're approaching the largest empty training ground in Suna, training ground 15. It's mostly used for large scale spars between two teams or to try out large scale jutsus without any structural damage, but why would Rasa take me here?

Before I get to wonder about it any longer, gold dust is suddenly wrapped around one of my legs and lift me up into the air, making a loud yelp of surprise escape me. I'm literally _thrown_ into the middle of the field and I twist my body in the air so I'll be able to land with my feet on the ground; I slide back a bit from the force but I remain standing as I frown over at Rasa's direction. My mouth opens to ask what his problem is but I'm interrupted when Rasa reach out his hand towards me and a wave of gold dust burst out from the ground towards me.

I'm forced to roll to the side to avoid collision and I quickly equip my bo staff through the verbal command 'equip staff' Yohio taught me and surround it with crush chakra so I can bat away the next gold dust wave and effectively disperse it. Anger from the sudden attack is swelling in my chest as I glare at the calm and collected jounin and I finally get time to say something to him.

"What the hell!? Why are you attacking me!?"

He doesn't say anything in return but only run towards me with two kunai in each hand and another set of gold dust bursts up from underneath my feet to catch me off guard. I'm barely able to avoid it by jumping back and hitting away the gold dust with my bo staff so it can't grab a hold of me, but just as the cloud of gold is dispersed, I've accidentally left myself open for Rasa's physical attack. He slash towards my head with one of his kunai, which I barely avoid with a tilt of my head, and a powerful force is suddenly jammed into my side and sends me skidding away along the ground like a skipping stone on water.

I grip onto my side in pain and immediately notice that I lost my grip on my bo staff from the impact; I lift my head to look towards the older jounin and slowly stand up, the ground starts to crackle beneath my fingers as the emotions in my chest are only getting stronger and fiercer.

Why the _fuck_ is he attacking me like this? Why the _fuck_ does he care now of all times? How fucking _dare_ he catch me off guard like thi-?

"You're sloppy. You're even worse than you were all those months ago."

I can hear a loud 'crack' from the ground as I push myself up to my feet, glaring hard at Rasa while my face is flushing red from anger; I'm not _weak_ , I'm even stronger than I was back then, he doesn't know _shit_ on what he's talking about.

"I'm not…"

Is the only defense I manage to say, gripping onto my side harder as I'm trying to wrestle my crush chakra back in control despite the livid _anger_ fueling my system. How fucking _dare_ he say that to me, he who has been gone in the war for so fucking long while I've been training day and night. I'm _too_ strong, don't fucking mess with me old man, I don't want to destroy everything, I don't _want_ to be angry.

Rasa Raises an unimpressed eyebrow at my reply and cross his arms, looking down at me in such a way that makes me feel inferior and helpless compared to him; a look that Rasa has perfected throughout the years I've challenged him. I launch myself towards him with an angry battle cry, wanting to punch his face in so hard that he will _never_ be able to look at me that way again. But despite the power and chakra I use in my punch, force won't do anything if he's fast enough to completely avoid it and redirect my punch using his gold dust. Getting more and more frustrated that I'm not able to _hit_ him I continue with my assaults, again and again and _again_ , trying to vent out all of my anger just so I'll be able to _hit_ him.

I don't know how long I do this, simply attacking in blind rage, but I don't _care_. I just want to punch his face in, prove to him that I _am_ strong, that I _have_ improved, that I'm _not_ fucking useless! He doesn't attack me in return, as if he can win without needing to attack in any way, and that makes me even angrier than anything. Why the fuck can _he_ be agile and strong enough where he doesn't need to break a sweat? Why can't _I_ be like that too!?

Why can't I be strong like this bastard!?

I trip over a stream of gold dust and fall to my knees, my uncontrolled chakra causing the ground underneath me to crack and crumble into a crater to soften my fall. My limbs are shaking as I'm trying to stand up again, heavy pants escaping me as my lungs is begging for air, for rest that I cannot give myself. I have to be stronger, I can't just lie down like this, I have to prove to him that I can _do_ it.

"Your self destructive behavior ends _now_. You have to control your anger, not unleash it at the first opportunity you get. It will only put your team in danger."

I grit my teeth together when Rasa starts to _insult_ me of my weakness, fueling the anger in my chest even further as I once again stand on uneasy footing. My body is screaming at me to lie down and rest, that I've done _enough_ , but it's never enough; I have to make up for the cursed existence that I am for my family, to do that I need to be better, stronger and able to stand back up again no matter how many times I'm brought down. I turn towards Rasa once more, chest heaving with heavy pants as I raise my fists once more in preparation to attack him.

"Don't talk… a-as if you know me… bastard..!"

I try to kick him in the side but it is simply blocked by a wave of gold dust that quickly wraps around my leg to keep it there; it should have exploded from my crush chakra so why didn't it? Another strand of gold dust wraps around my right arm to keep it still and no matter how hard I tug on my limbs they just won't come free; the chakra bursts I send towards the offending gold dust does nothing to let up its firm grip on me, I can't be out of chakra yet, can I? Realizing my defeat, I let my body collapse under the firm grip of gold dust, frustrated with myself that I have once again lost to Rasa despite my new crushing ability; why can't I ever land a solid hit on this guy? I can't be that weak, I can't.

"I understand enough of your personality to know that you're far from the right state of mind required of a chuunin. You will only get yourself killed."

I can't help but let out a tired laugh when he says that, my body sagging onto the sandy ground in exhaustion as Rasa has now released my arm arm and leg; that's kinda what I'm wishing for here, to get killed on the battlefield while doing something useful. Everyone would be better off without someone like me around, I just curse everything I care for.

A sharp pain suddenly sprouts from my left cheek and I quickly catch myself from falling to the ground with a shaking arm, my head starts to spin wildly from the impact as if the world is tilting sideways, what..? I raise my free hand to my throbbing cheek and carefully touch the now tender skin, why did he just-? Did he just slap me? Wha-? I didn't say-.

"Stop wallowing in your self pity, death is something that happens to everyone and nothing can change that. There is never one person who is the cause of a person's death and especially not someone who were nowhere near when it occurred. You're a chuunin now so _act_ like it."

I raise my head to stare at Rasa, strangely numb from his slap as I just meet his eyes to try and see if he's telling from experience. And he must be, because those eyes hold nothing but the cold, hard truth of his words; Rasa wouldn't say something just because it sounds right… right? But for me it's different, I _am_ the reason Sho is dead, I'm the reason deleters even exist.

"I-... But I am. If I wasn't born he-"

"Were you the one who pierced a sword through his heart?"

I flinch at Rasa's interruption and think back to how Setsuko's squad leader described Sho's death. _A sword pierced right through his heart, his body disappeared upon death._ I mutely shake my head at his question, letting my hands rest in my lap as I'm looking up at the jounin in front of me; I'd never kill Sho.

"Then did you ever wish for his death?"

Rasa crouches down in front of me when I shake my head a second time, a strangely calming look in his eyes rather than his 'cold, firm an better than than thou' stare. I'd never wish death on my family, never ever, but I'm still-

"Then why would you ever think that you're the cause for his death?"

I look down at my hands, said limbs still shaking from over use of crush chakra with many bruises and rips on my skin like something has been pulling my skin apart because of it. I can't tell Rasa about our clan's power, it's part of the main rules, but I doubt he'd let me walk away without answering his question. It's a bit strange… Why am I even listening to him? He doesn't get it, he doesn't understand what I'm going through.

"I-... I was born with a curse. The curse spread and I-. If I hadn't been born then he wouldn't have-... died…"

"But you never _chose_ to have this so called 'curse'. It was something that was thrust upon you, something that you couldn't resist."

I can feel his hand gently settle on my shoulder as my body is starting to shake, a heavy lump forming in my throat in a very familiar way; a way that is familiar for me from my previous life, a way that I've wanted to feel for _so long_. But why, how, how can I feel like this now when I couldn't before? Is it because I'm interacting with a deleter? Is that it? Why is this fucking gamer's mind fucking up my emotions like this? I don't _get_ it, what does the Maker _want_ with me?

"No one can choose the way they are born but we can choose what we do with our lives. Your cousin chose to fight for the future of Suna, _your_ future, and he died protecting it. You would only spit on his grave if you blame his death on yourself when he died fighting for our village."

With tears finally falling down my cheeks and sobs wrecking through my chest, I'm finally able to _mourn_. All because a jounin beat me to exhaustion and forcefully tore away the curtains that was clouding my emotions; not my family, not my friend or my teammates. But a cold hearted jounin who has never acknowledged me as a great ninja, never called me by name and who I tried to beat up every day whenever I saw him; why would _he_ be the one I choose to take the words to my heart?

What does this all mean? Why can I mourn _now_ of all times? Why does Rasa act like he cares about me?

There are many things I can't understand because I'm a bad ninja. I'm bad at _thinking_ like a ninja because I don't want to second guess everything that's happening around me.

But for some reason, I'm _glad_ that I'm alive. But why? Why is it only I who have to deal with this fucking bullshit?

What is making me so fucking different?

* * *

Rasa actually cares a bit, he dragged her a little out from the hole she made for herself! So she'll heal from the ordeal. Kinda. Slowly. I still want it to be somewhat realistic so she will be hung up that it's all her fault for a while longer but her self destructive behaviour will dim a little now. Not that she wasn't self destructive from the very start... But yeh she's getting better. Slowly. She's far from a good person but she's not _as_ bad right?

 **This chapter's question:** What should happen to Setsuko now? I have some ideas but I wanna hear yours, lay it on me!

 **Review replies:**

 **prisontaker:** Yeh dry food would be easier to preserve in heat. -nod nod-

Praaaaaise you!

Woaaah that sounds absolutely crazy. I'll think about it! Sounds fudging awesome. X'D

Oooh that sounds like a cool skill to have. It could be tied in with her gamer skill as well. :o

Hmm that does sound interesting... It could increase her chakra reserves and the amount of chakra she could put into a blow. But that it transforms her physical body is what I'm a bit uneasy about, I'm trying to have a rule for her powers where she shouldn't be able to affect the physical aspects of her body with her SSP powers. I bet she'd pick this kind of ability just to get taller. X'D But I'll think about it.

Oooh the more fury in the blow the more powerful it'd become. That does sound very useful in Mio's case since she can't control her anger that well. And it could also cause a lot of problems in her daily life just like her crush chakra. ^^

It sounds very similar to the sharingan. I haven't stated it in the story yet but Mio is able to get all three stages of the sharingan if she wanted to, she'd need to pay SSP for each upgrade. But since she's able to get the sharingan I think I'll have to rule this one out. I haven't watched the series yet, but I will someday!

Seriously thank you, always, for all of your great power suggestions. You're making it harder and harder to decide with all the great suggestions you're throwing my way, thank you!

 **EmikoTsubasa bunnydragon:** Hey that's ok, I appreciate any thoughts you have to share. I also imagine cactus and cactus juice will be used in desert cooking, they can grow in the desert after all.

 **Kemi:** Yes agreed, too many have the main character keep all their memories from the very start and have them worry too much about the future that is waaay off. I'm glad that you like my take on the gamer power, thank you! ^^

 **americayea:** Ah I see, well this story isn't for everyone but I'm thankful you stuck around for a bit and gave it a chance. I doubt you'll ever get to see my reply here but let me explain a bit on my thoughts of those events since you pointed them out. I'm uncertain as to which specific pet peeves it is that you're pointing out but I'll do my best to explain myself from what I can pick up on.  
With Mio getting poisoned by Iwa it had no lasting effect due to her ability 'gamer's body'. Once the poison got cured she had no lingering effects from it purely because her body acts like it's in a video game. If, for example, your pokemon would be affected by the move Toxic, a move that heavily poisons your pokemon, and you took the pokemon for treatment to a pokemon center would any lasting effect from toxic still be there? The answer is no, because it's a video game where the poison move toxic wouldn't have a lasting effect on your pokemon. The same goes for Mio with her own poisoning, she got those debuffs that lasted for a long time _because_ it was a powerful poison that affected her brain. But once the poison was out of her system and debuffs had passed her body returned to its prime perfectly healthy state before the poisoning.

Concerning mind attacks, I'm guessing you mean when the Maker deliberately hurt Mio within her mind to prove a point. She is not mind controlled in any way, she is still very much her own person, but the influence the Maker has on Mio is that they affect the world around her and the other Masago to make their lives more difficult. When the maker forcefully shoved Mio out from her mindscape was to prove a point to everyone present that they can still kill them whenever the Maker wants, that they are alive only to give the Maker enjoyment and nothing else. The clan head has no say in the matter of the Maker, they are an over powerful being that _created_ the Masago clan. The very fact that the Maker is now actively taking part in their lives, something they have never done before, _scares_ the whole family and even more so for Mio's sake since she seems to be the scapegoat for the Maker.

I'm sorry that you didn't want to continue on with the story and I'm sorry that I can't show you all the thoughts I've put into everything that's happening. But it's how first person view works, you don't get shown everything and not everyone likes that. You get your own view of a situation that you see is flawed when in reality other things were happening behind the scenes that the main character simply wasn't aware of or didn't think of. Thus these things don't get shown in the story. So again, I'm sorry that my story wasn't for your liking but I hope that my explanation in these two matters might clear something up to other readers who are confused.

 **Guest:** XD That's very true! Now I have to use it in the story whe I'm able to, thank you so much for that funny image. Thank you for your suggestions!

 **Mattywilkss:** I have deliberately made Mio into a bad person, yes. And I realize that it's a heavy flaw but I chose this _because_ it's a heavy flaw and a flaw that could develop as she grows. I realize that the slow pace isn't for everyone and I've heard your screaming comments. I will go through the past chapters to see if I can leave out or tweak anything to make the pace better but I will not change her personality just because you're screaming about how shitty she is. I KNOW that she's a bad person. I KNOW that she thinks she's all high and mighty as a kid. But I chose that as her character traits because I wanted to explore writing a character who KNOWS she's a bad person and through life wants to change it. So I'm sorry that this story wasn't for you, but I'm not going to change my character just because you scream about how shitty she is. I know she's shitty and I love her for it. I'd rather have her be shitty and stuck up than an absolutely perfect and flawless mary sue. ^^


	28. nine years old

Hey, I have returned!

Yes, it's been a very long time since I updated and I apologize for that... A lot of stuff happened and afterwards I was completely drained from all energy. I couldn't sit down by my computer and only writing this short version was hard to do. I didn't want to throw out something half-assed only to keep up with my own little schedule so instead it ended up being on a bit on the shorter side... I usually want it to be around 5000-7000 characters/chapter but this one ended up in 4000. Sorry.

But anyway, I hope you enjoy this one! It's a bit of a wind down after what happened last time, which is always nice to have in my opinion.

* * *

I'm currently sitting in Aiko's apartment, arms crossed and glaring a little at Kai who is sitting in front of me, Kai being Aiko's boyfriend. My eldest cousin missed my birthday party, since we're all ninja and have important jobs, so I've decided to intrude on their apartment as soon as she came back home. The man in front of me is glaring back at me with just as much vigor and arms crossed in the same way as I am, Aiko is in the kitchen fixing up tea for all of us at the moment so she's not here to intervene. I can't help but twitch and blink from a sudden clang coming from the kitchen which makes Kai grin widely at his little victory, stupid guy.

"Thanks sweetheart, I won again~."

"You're welcome."

Kai calls out towards the kitchen, the grin on his face growing wider when I only glare harder at him for his comment. We don't have staring contests, at least not in my opinion, but Kai always, _always_ seem to think we're in one whenever I glare at him. I haven't met this guy that often despite how long he and Aiko have been in a relationship, never really felt like interacting with him, but I think we at least have a mutual understanding to not get on each others nerves.

When it doesn't come to my dislike in losing that is.

"Oh shut up blondie you did not. If it's a competition both have to take part in it."

"Ah but when you're glaring so fiercely at me I just have to take up the challenge."

"I don't like you."

"So you've said many times before."

Our small banter is interrupted when Aiko loudly places a tray with three glasses of ice tea onto the table and I look up at her to see my cousin glaring angrily at me, as if she's telling me to behave. I just let out a huff as a response and glare over to Kai once more, but I do relax a little in my chair; no matter how little I like this guy he's still Aiko's boyfriend.

"Seriously Mio, stop it with that attitude or I'll dump this tea all over you."

I stick out my bottom lip a little and reach out to grab one of the three glasses, focusing on my cousin now when she's here. Kai is what I see as a two faced guy which I don't like at all. He acts differently almost every time that I see him and it's frustrating me to no end. Is he a cheerful jokester? Is he a quiet and reserved guy? Is he a polite and 'perfect boyfriend'? I can't fucking tell and that's frustrating! Not to mention that _he_ is the reason I barely ever see Aiko anymore, he's basically stolen her from our lives.

So yes, I don't like him. It may seem childish but I really haven't gotten a reason to like him.

"When I came here I didn't think _he'd_ be here…"

"Cherry pop, I _live_ here. Of course I'd be home when Aiko comes home."

I glare over at Kai when he calls me by that _blasted_ nickname and slowly take a sip from my ice tea, the older jounin only grin and wink towards me in return while Aiko sits down beside her boyfriend with a tired sigh. She came home only yesterday so she must still be tired, but I've missed my cousin and want to catch up. I'm not sure if she's been caught up to the whole situation with Setsuko either, but I'm mostly here because I want to hear some kind of 'congratulations' for both becoming chuunin and celebrating 9 years old while she was gone.

"Oh quiet you two, you're giving me a headache. So why'd you suddenly show up at our doorstep, Mio?"

I give Aiko a blank look with a raised eyebrow, tugging a bit on the collar of the chuunin vest I decided to wear to try and give her a clue. Kai lean back in his chair with his glass of tea, sipping from it as he looks between the two of us. It takes her a few seconds before it really registers into her mind and a bright, wide grin spreads over her face once it has. She leans over the table to affectionately ruffle my hair which causes my chakra to buzz loud and happy within my chest, head pats are really the best even if it messes up my hair.

"You're chuunin now! Congrats! At 8 years old even- oh wait shit your birthday! I'll come back to you concerning a gift, I haven't really had time to fix one."

I let out an amused snort when I bat away Aiko's hand from my head and try to fix the mess that is my hair with a fond smile on my face. I didn't expect a gift, I don't really need any more gifts but I gotta admit that the attention is nice. Since Aiko is 23 now and living on her own she has kind of banned all the cousins from giving her birthday gifts, only her parents and little brother are allowed to do so now.

"Hey that's ok, I didn't expect a gift. But have you kept up with everything that's happened while you were gone?"

The atmosphere in the room grows sullen from my question and Aiko sits back in her chair to stare at the glass of tea in front of her. Her long, dark green hair is loose from its usual ponytail and she starts to fiddle with a strand of hair by twirling it around her finger. Before she can say anything in return Kai settle a hand on her shoulder with a serious expression on his face, causing Aiko to glance up at him.

"Do you need me to leave? I know how the Masago are with secrets…"

I can see a soft, loving expression light up my cousins face and she leans in to gently kiss his cheek in return. I can't help but frown a little at the small interaction, the two of them are so fucking lovey dovey whenever they can. It's fine and all, but… yeah.

"Please do so. It might get a bit sensitive…"

Kai nods and stands up, nuzzling Aikos hair before he walk over to me and playfully ruffle my hair to make it even more of a mess even if I just fixed it. I try my best to ignore the soft buzz in my chest from the action and wave away the annoying guy with an angry pout affixed to my face, he couldn't leave the house sooner with the promise that he'd return in an hour. Once Kai has left, Aiko start up the conversation.

"So other than you getting better control of your 'ability', Sho dying and Yuuto getting kidnapped… What's been going on?"

So she has been caught up on the situation. I start to tell her the details of everything that's happened while she was gone, including how both I and Yuuto reacted to the multiple reloads and how I almost died from it. Also my rescue of our cousin, how we met Chouza and got away; I told her about how Setsuko has been since she came back home and everything we've done to try and make her respond to us.

At the end of my explanation, Aiko sighs heavily while running one of her hands down her face and angle her head down towards the table.

"Fuck, Setsuko… Damn it, why did it-? Fuck…"

"Heh, says a lot if you're the one swearing."

I say with a bit of forced humor in my voice, aiming a small smile in Aiko's direction. Yeah, that's pretty much everyone's reaction to this whole thing; worry for Setsuko and her state of mind from Sho's death. They were two parts of a whole after all...

"Oh shut up. How's Yohio? Emi, Taro? You…?"

"Yohio has thrown himself into studies and training to take over the clan next year. Emi is crying a lot when she thinks no one is around… And Taro is trying his best to keep it all together. And I-..."

I think about my current state of mind with a small frown on my face, looking down at the table to avoid Aiko's searching gaze. How am I fearing, truly? I'm not ok, far from it, but I'm not in such a bad place as I was before either. After a lot of thought, I realised that Rasa was right, that it's not really my existence that's at fault but rather the Maker who has some sort of grudge against me. That it's the Maker who is to blame for Sho's death and Yuuto's capture, not me as a person.

But how am I?

"I'm… making progress. It's hard since I _remember_ what it is like to mourn but I physically can't do it, it makes me angry all the time. But I'm improving I guess, Rasa made me realize it's not really _my_ fault that Sho is dead."

"Wait Rasa did that? The stuck up, oh so great know-it-all? He has an actual soft side?"

I let out a small snort in amusement at her comment and smile up at my cousin, that's right she has fought with him on the battlefield. She's a skilled jounin after all, of course she'd know who Rasa is.

"Yeah, surprised me too. But hey, what he said made sense, just because I was born when the law of deleters got created doesn't mean it's personally my fault for all the shit that's been happening to us. I still feel guilty I guess, but I'm getting better."

"Good to know. I should ask him what he did to make _you_ listen to what someone says."

I shake my head with a wide grin and say I'd rather not have her talk to me the same way Rasa does, I doubt it'd be as effective from Aiko as it is from Rasa. It has to be something about Rasa being a deleter, that it's affecting me somehow in ways that I can't really understand or explain. I've kept these thoughts to myself, it's still speculations without any kind of truth and deleters are kind of recent to our clan, I doubt anyone else have experienced what I have. No deleter have interacted with the Masago that much so I can't be sure if they can bypass our Gamer's mind somehow. The other deleters we have in the village at the moment are a few minor 'characters', the third Kazekage, Sasori who rarely shows emotions at all and Rasa who's an overall asshole.

I'm the small black sheep in our family so it wouldn't surprise me if only I'm affected by them either. There's something that's wrong with me after all.

The rest of my visit while Kai is gone consists of trading stories from our missions, to bring our thoughts away from our family's predicament and lighten the mood a bit. It might seem strange that trading mission stories can be seen as more light hearted but it's better than to think of Setsuko's state of mind.

Since we became chuunin Makoto and Natsu have changed their clothes slightly, I have also changed my style of clothes to seem more 'professional'. Makoto who used to wear a beige, short sleeved kimono top and black cargo pants is now wearing a long sleeved brown shirt; the sleeves are reaching down to his elbows and it clings to his skin so it will lessen air resistance, he also wears his chuunin flak jacket over it to show his rank. He still wears his headband on his forehead like I do but now has shorter cargo pants than before that stops right beneath his knees. He rarely wear his sand cloak anymore, only when we will be in the desert for a long time.

Natsu, who used to have simple t-shirt and cargo pants like me, is now wearing a dark red long sleeved kimono top with wide sleeves where he can hide his senbon. He also uses his chuunin flak jacket like Makoto and has long black cargo pants. He still has his hitai ate around his neck to hide his scar from the old poison wound he got during his academy days.

Me? I've decided to always keep my hands and forearms bandaged in an effort to control my crush chakra and give me a better grip on my weapons. I usually wear a heavy iron threaded fishnet shirt under a loose fitted grey t-shirt that displays my clan symbol proudly on my back. Tight fitting black shorts and the standard suna ninja sandals finish off the look, nothing spectacular but it's practical.

When Kai return to the apartment I take that as my cue to leave, begrudgingly accepting the annoying man's hair ruffle and hug my cousin goodbye. My team will be leaving for a mission tomorrow which I'll most likely end up leading due to my sensing ability, since the three of us started to go on missions alone I automatically took over the leader role to avoid major conflicts. Because of that my leadership has already gone up to level 4, we've only been on three missions alone so far.

As I walk down the streets of Suna towards the hospital, I nod towards the fellow ninja I recognize. As I'm walking I remove the stuffy chuunin vest from my person and put it in my inventory, I don't really care if a suna ninja see what I'm doing, everyone in the village have just accepted that Masago are weird.

Throughout the years I and Yohio have known him, Sasori has kind of become a part of the Masago family, especially since his parents died a little over a year ago and went to Yohios place for dinner sometimes. His grandmother Chiyo is an ass in my opinion, since she neglected Sasori in his other childhood, and she's no different now even when he's grown up with a loving family and friends; she still puts him at an arm long distance so it's really no wonder why Sasori felt in the other version of the story that he had nothing left in the village.

On another positive note, Sasori took up on my advice to stop taking in puppet orders and only focus on creating his masterpiece of a puppet, one he can be proud of and call his 'true art' that he's been longing for. He was very proud of himself when he showed me a puppet with Uchiha eyes last time I went to visit, to sustain the eyes of an uchiha within a puppet is a great feat indeed. He didn't explain to me how it works or how he can use those eyes but he did say he'd include them in his masterpiece, I'm looking forward to seeing it even if I'm not that interested in puppets myself. They're versatile, sure, but I want a more direct approach in battle. He's yet to accept any birthday party invitations, but I'm sure he will sometime in the future!

Me and my team are most likely going to do more and more B-rank missions after tomorrow, knowing my luck and how fast we're improving in combat ability. I've spent some money on the menu shop to buy a defensive skill, energy shield, that would let me protect me or my comrades from any incoming attack in preparation for our first B-rank. I may be focused on offence but If I don't have a single defense jutsu when the situation calls for it, I'd be in deep trouble. With B-rank missions I get 4 SSP for every mission, so I can definitely understand why Yohio told me not to worry about gaining SSP points way back when we started doing missions. I don't get any EXP from missions anymore though, but my cousin get double the EXP from missions than they did before. It's the Maker again, playing favorites; I get that I dungeon crawl every single night and get my EXP that way but it could give me at least a little more of a carrot from doing missions.

I let out a soft sigh when I stop in front of Sunagakure hospital, looking up at the large and rounded building next to the hokage tower. I've heard some rumors that I want to know if they're true or not, that's why I'm here in the first place. I adjust my loose t-shirt a little before I step inside, the cool air causing goosebumps to rise on my skin and the sterile smell is making my nose itch a bit. I've never liked hospitals that much, I'd rather stay away from them if I can help it…

I walk up to the counter and announce my presence to the female receptionist, making said woman look down at me with a bored yet curious look on her face. Without beating around the bush I get straight to the point.

"I'm here to see Kurisu Sakyou, is she here?"

The receptionist seems surprised by my question but nonetheless looks through her papers to see if Kurisu is here or not, it's just a rumor I heard from the academy; don't remember from who or how but I did hear about it around my birthday. I just haven't thought about checking it out until now…

"Ah yes, she's working today. If you want to wait here she'll have her lunch break in about 15 minutes."

I nod in thanks to the receptionist and sit down on one of the many benches littered around the hall to wait. Kurisu was my friend from my academy days, or the closest thing I had as a friend. Back then I only used her to get better at chakra control and to make myself feel stronger as a person, but now she's graduated and already found an apprenticeship within the hospital through her family. I'm not sure exactly when she graduated but a part of me is proud that she got an apprenticeship so soon after graduation, even if it was through her family connections.

And seeing as I'm a chuunin now, and I feel a little guilty for how I treated her back then, I couldn't help but be curious on how she's developed when I heard she was working in the hospital. So here I am now, waiting for my old 'almost friend' to arrive for lunch break and as I wait I practice more on my chakra sensing. Leveling up skills gets harder the more you level it up so I want to use any chance I get to increase my senor range, it'll be really useful in the long run after all.

I don't know how much time had passed when I hear a soft and surprised voice in front of me.

"M-Mi-Masago-san? What are you-...?"

I open my eyes and look up, a small smile spreading on my face when I see a very familiar girls nervous expression. She still has the same light brown eyes, same black hair styled in a ponytail at the nape of her neck, only now it has grown a lot longer. She's dressed in the usual beige hospital uniform they wear around here and other than looking nervous as all hell she seems to be doing ok, that's a relief. She doesn't have that slight uncertain slouch in her posture anymore but is standing in front of me with her back straight, she's grown a bit of a back bone during the last years in the academy it seems.

"Hey Sakyou, I heard you graduated and came here so I came to see it for myself."

I stand up from my seat and walk over to her, looking the elder girl up and down to take in her posture a little more; she certainly feels more confident than the little squeaky mouse I used to spend time with. I wonder what happened in the academy once I graduated, the graduation age was lowered to 9 after all, a lot of students disappeared at once. Kurisu lets out a nervous giggle and starts to fiddle with her clothes in a very familiar way, a small smile spreading on her lips.

"W-Well, here I am. Uhm… H-How's things been going for you?"

I grab onto Kurisu's arm and steer her towards the door, since she's on her lunch break we should catch up during lunch, and pointedly ignore the girls nervous stuttering of what I was doing.

"It's been going well. I've become a chuunin recently so my missions will probably get harder from here on out. Hey where do you wanna eat? It's my treat."

"I- M-Masago-san, I couldn't possibly let you treat me for lunch. That's-"

I let go of Kurisu's arm once she starts to walk next to me, the two of us making our way towards the market district, and aim a slight glare in the nervous girls direction. She flails her hands slightly in panic, her smile turning sheepish as she tries to calm my ire. Ire that isn't really there to be honest, because I don't get angry over her nervous tendencies anymore.

"I-I mean I'd gladly eat lunch with you, Masago-san! But please, let me be the one to pay you."

I let out a sigh and stop at the start of the market street, prompting Kurisu to do the same with a nervous and reasy-to-please smile still on her face. This girl, I had forgotten how she always wanted to please me in any way she could. Honestly, I have no idea why she even decided to become my friend back then, I treated her really badly after all… So I place my hands on my hips and look up at the medical ninja with a determined frown on my face.

"Listen here, _I'm_ offering to pay for your meal, so you should just accept my offer with a _thank you_. So what do you want? Cactus steaks? Barbeque? I've heard that the usual scorpion place expanded to serve pudding too."

When I say this, Kurisu nods meekly with a small shy aimed down at the ground. She fiddles with her clothes in that very familiar way once more and I patiently wait for her reply on where she wants to eat.

"T-Then if you wouldn't mind… I quite like the cactus…"

I nod and start to walk ahead in the direction of the only cactus restaurant I know of, to which Kurisu follows after me. It's a perfectly normal afternoon and the heat isn't too unbearable under the sun either, it's a good desert day now that the seasons are changing from winter into spring. I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to see snow in this life…

"Say, Sakyou. If I get to call you Kurisu, you can call me Mio. We've known each other long enough to call each other by first name without honorifics."

My sudden suggestion seems to have surprised the older girl as she lets out a small squeak, seems like she's still a bit of a mouse. I look over towards her while Kurisu wave her hands in front of her face with an uneasy smile on her face.

"N-No, no, no, I couldn't possibly- I c-can't call you by first name, Masago-san that's-. Are you really sure you'd want me to call you that? You're a chuunin after all and I'm still a genin."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't change that we've known each other for a long time. Besides, aren't you aiming for being the best medic around?"

This makes Kurisu pause slightly and aim her gaze back to the ground once more. She fiddles with her hands nervously as a pleased smile spreads on her face along with a bit of red dusting her cheeks. I didn't expect her to act so pleased for such a small thing, I didn't even give her any kind of compliment did I?

"Y-You remember…"

"Of course I remember, it was the first time you weren't acting like a shy mouse. Also, I want to hear about everything that happened in the academy that gave you more confidence, you've changed a lot."

As we were about to walk past the cactus place due to Kurisu looking down into the ground, I grab onto her arm and drag her in the direction of the restaurant. Which earned another squeak of surprise from her, guess some things just don't change with some people.

"Y-You've also changed a lot, Ma-. … Mio."

I look back towards Kurisu in surprise and blink, to think that she'd say my name so soon. The girl behind me has a large, gleeful smile on her face and she's practically glowing in joy. Seeing the joy in her eyes from such a small thing makes me smile in return and it reminds me of why I let her stick around me when we were younger. Those rare moments of pure sunshine are delightful to see.

"Well, let's talk over lunch then, Kurisu. We have two years to catch up on and I want to hear it all."

"M-Mio, that's quite a lot…"

"Then we just have to do this again, don't we?"

The joy only grew in her face once I promised to eat lunch with her again and I couldn't help but laugh at how easy she is to please. I didn't think it would turn out this well when I only wanted to see how Kurisu was doing, but after that lunch I realised that I had gotten another friend. And I hope I can keep Kurisu as a friend, once you get past her nervous exterior she is a really nice girl. I just hope I can make it up to her for all the friends she lost when she hung out with me.

I'll take it slowly, step by step. When it comes to relations with other people there's no need for me to rush.

* * *

(As a little bonus, have a small piece of a flash forward.)

Fuck, fuck, fuck… ! Was it the Maker again? Damn that being!

I slowly reach into my hip pouch, taking out the scroll that we were supposed to deliver. I hand it back towards Natsu cautiously, placing a finger in front of my lips in a shushing motion. He wants to refuse but I smile slightly at him, pressing the scroll firmly into his chest until he grabs it.

I let go of the scroll, knowing it's in good hands, and activate my stealth to sneak away from my teammates. 18… 18 Iwa ninja. 5 tired and weary Konoha ninja that they're about to ambush.

To give my teammates an opening to escape and proceed with the mission, I'll be forced to play the hero.

I quietly rustle the bushes where I'm crouching before I shoot towards the closest Iwa ninja, punching them hard in the stomach when they turn around and causing them to fly out of the undergrowth with me into the clearing where the Konoha ninja are. Even with only the small amount of Crash chakra that I used in my fist, a crater is formed underneath the Iwa ninja as they collide with the ground under us. The Konoha ninja flinch, standing up from their resting positions now that I've successfully drawn attention to myself.

And the Iwa ninja lying unconscious in a crumpled heap beneath me, breath rattling beneath their broken ribs. Let's not forget that; they're the other half of my dramatic entrance, after all.

"I really hate playing hero…"

I start off softly, standing up with my back towards the Konoha team before taking a few steps backwards, toward them, while cracking my knuckles audibly.

I then activate almost the full extent of my Crash ability, tilting my head as I'm looking over the Konoha nin. The ground is crushed beneath my feet, a ripple running through the air as I'm surrounded by a soft white glow. The surrounding birds' animal instincts kick in as they flee from the scene and I can sense everyone surrounding the clearing tense up at my power. The Konoha ninja flinch, those who aren't gravely injured shifting into weak fighting stances. I can't handle this kind of power too long so I hope this gets finished quickly.

"I'm Mio Masago, ninja of Sunagakure. Let me help you take out the trash around here, tree huggers..."

* * *

And that's what I've managed to write during my recooperation month. I hope it was at least a little satisfactory with the brief glimpse of a future scene coming.

 **This chapter's question:** What are your thoughts on Kurisu's reappearance in the story?

 **Review replies:**

 **prisontaker:** A very good assumption considering what she's gone through. It will take a few years, yes.

Fudging damn it prisontaker, you blessed human being. You're showering me in good ideas! X'D How can I ever be able to choose!?

Oof that sounds like a very useful ability. And the fact that you'd have to kill the person to take a card would unsettle Mio, I very much like this idea.

That also sounds useful and with that kind of drawback she'd need some kind of regeneration ability to counter it. Maybe, maybe.

Ooh I've never thought of including vectors in this, thank you for that! It does seem like a really useful ability in so many different ways, I like this one.

That sounds really cool, space jutsu! But I also have... plans so no matter how cool or fun that'd be I'll have to shoot down that idea, sorry.

Again, thank you so much, It's such a blessing that you help me with so many different ideas for Mio's powers. Truly you're a blessing.

 **EmikoTsubasa bunnydragon:** That is also a very good plan for Setsuko's recuperation. Thank you. X3

Ooh I haven't heard about that one. I'll be sure to look it up, thank you for the suggestion. ^^


End file.
